How to best use Copilot?

Question

How to best use Copilot?

Thomas Calcaterra 0

Good morning,

We have installed Copilot on Microsoft 365 in the company. The unanimous first impression has been negative, as we were expecting more interaction with the tools.

Let me give a couple of examples:

Excel. I enter a series of numbers and ask it to highlight the odd ones. Nothing. I select them myself. Nothing. I create a table and finally it works.

PowerPoint. I ask it to create a presentation. It works. I ask it to delete a slide. Nothing. I ask it to add a summary slide at the end. Nothing.

Let me know if these are the limits or if we are using the tool incorrectly.

Thank you.

Jonathan Harrison 170 Reputation points

2024-12-13T10:18:28.5033333+00:00
Good morning,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your feedback regarding the use of Copilot in Microsoft 365. We understand that your initial experience has not met your expectations, and we'd like to provide some guidance to help you make the most of this tool.

Understanding Copilot's Capabilities and Limitations

Microsoft Copilot is designed to assist users with a variety of tasks across different applications within Microsoft 365, such as Excel and PowerPoint. While it can perform many functions, it's important to understand its current capabilities and limitations to use it effectively.

Examples and Tips for Using Copilot

Excel: Highlighting Odd Numbers

Task Description: Entering a series of numbers and asking Copilot to highlight the odd ones.

Current Limitation: Copilot may not directly highlight odd numbers without additional context or formatting.

Solution: Ensure that your data is in a structured format (e.g., a table). You can also use Excel’s built-in features like conditional formatting to highlight odd numbers. For example, use a formula such as =MOD(A1,2)=1 in the Conditional Formatting rules.

PowerPoint: Managing Slides

Task Description 1: Asking Copilot to create a presentation.

Outcome: Successfully creates the presentation.

Task Description 2: Asking Copilot to delete a slide or add a summary slide.

**Current Limitation**: These specific commands might not be recognized by Copilot directly. **Solution**: Use specific commands or manual operations. For deleting a slide, you can right-click on the slide thumbnail and select "Delete Slide." To add a summary slide, use PowerPoint’s built-in features like the “Summary Zoom” or manually insert a new slide and summarize the key points.

Best Practices for Using Copilot

Be Specific with Commands: When interacting with Copilot, try to use precise and clear commands. For example, instead of "highlight the odd ones," specify the exact range and condition, such as "highlight cells in column A where the value is odd."

Structured Data: Ensure that your data or content is well-organized. Copilot works more effectively when it can easily recognize patterns and structures.

Regular Updates: Keep your Microsoft 365 applications updated to benefit from the latest features and improvements in Copilot.

Learning Resources

To better understand how to maximize the use of Microsoft Copilot, we recommend exploring the following resources:

Microsoft 365 Training

Copilot in Microsoft 365 Documentation

We appreciate your feedback and are continuously working to enhance the capabilities of Copilot. Please let us know if you have any further questions or need additional assistance.

Best regards,Good morning,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your feedback regarding the use of Copilot in Microsoft 365. We understand that your initial experience has not met your expectations, and we'd like to provide some guidance to help you make the most of this tool.

Understanding Copilot's Capabilities and Limitations

Microsoft Copilot is designed to assist users with a variety of tasks across different applications within Microsoft 365, such as Excel and PowerPoint. While it can perform many functions, it's important to understand its current capabilities and limitations to use it effectively.

Examples and Tips for Using Copilot

Excel: Highlighting Odd Numbers

Task Description: Entering a series of numbers and asking Copilot to highlight the odd ones.

Current Limitation: Copilot may not directly highlight odd numbers without additional context or formatting.

Solution: Ensure that your data is in a structured format (e.g., a table). You can also use Excel’s built-in features like conditional formatting to highlight odd numbers. For example, use a formula such as =MOD(A1,2)=1 in the Conditional Formatting rules.

PowerPoint: Managing Slides

Task Description 1: Asking Copilot to create a presentation.

Outcome: Successfully creates the presentation.

Task Description 2: Asking Copilot to delete a slide or add a summary slide.

**Current Limitation**: These specific commands might not be recognized by Copilot directly. **Solution**: Use specific commands or manual operations. For deleting a slide, you can right-click on the slide thumbnail and select "Delete Slide." To add a summary slide, use PowerPoint’s built-in features like the “Summary Zoom” or manually insert a new slide and summarize the key points.

Best Practices for Using Copilot

Be Specific with Commands: When interacting with Copilot, try to use precise and clear commands. For example, instead of "highlight the odd ones," specify the exact range and condition, such as "highlight cells in column A where the value is odd."

Structured Data: Ensure that your data or content is well-organized. Copilot works more effectively when it can easily recognize patterns and structures.

Regular Updates: Keep your Microsoft 365 applications updated to benefit from the latest features and improvements in Copilot.

Learning Resources

To better understand how to maximize the use of Microsoft Copilot, we recommend exploring the following resources:

Microsoft 365 Training

Copilot in Microsoft 365 Documentation

We appreciate your feedback and are continuously working to enhance the capabilities of Copilot. Please let us know if you have any further questions or need additional assistance.

Best regards,

Jonathan Owner of Raiffs bits LLC, Microsoft ISV Partner

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