Ask questions about your notes using Copilot in OneNote
Copilot in OneNote supercharges your note taking and helps you understand, create, and recall information. With Copilot in OneNote, you’re never limited by a set of predetermined prompts. You can freely chat with Copilot to complete a wide variety of complex tasks to transform OneNote into an invaluable assistant.
Chatting with Copilot can help you:
Find information in your notes.
Get tips and recommendations to improve your notes.
Learn new information to add to your notes.
To chat with Copilot in OneNote, follow these steps:
Select Copilot in the ribbon to open the Copilot pane.
In the Copilot compose box, enter a prompt to ask Copilot to complete a task or ask Copilot a question.
Select the Send arrow.
Let's get crafting
Note
Starting prompt:
Which webinar had the most attendees and participation?
In this simple prompt, you start with the basic Goal: to find out which webinar had the most attendees and participation. However, you could provide even more information so Copilot can generate a useful response.
| Element | Example |
|---|---|
| Basic prompt: Start with a Goal |
Which webinar had the most attendees and participation? |
| Good prompt: Add Context |
Adding Context can help Copilot understand what you need the information for. "...for our quarterly business review." |
| Better prompt: Specify Source(s) |
The Source for this prompt is assumed to be the notebook in OneNote, but you can get even more specific by referencing specific pages or topics. "Please refer to the attendance data from the notes for the last quarter." |
| Best prompt: Set clear Expectations |
Lastly, adding Expectations can help Copilot understand how you fine tune your results. "Please calculate the total number of attendees and average participation rate for each webinar. Please identify the webinar with the highest attendance and participation rate and provide a brief summary of its topic and key takeaways." |
Note
Crafted prompt:
Which webinar had the most attendees and participation for our quarterly business review? Please refer to the attendance data from the notes for the last quarter. Please calculate the total number of attendees and average participation rate for each webinar. Please identify the webinar with the highest attendance and participation rate and provide a brief summary of its topic and key takeaways.
Copilot has all the info it needs to give you a solid answer, thanks to the Goal, Context, Source, and Expectations in this prompt.
Explore more
Try out these other prompts with your own notes and customize them to your particular needs:
How many active projects does the East coast team have?
How should a new employee be onboarded?
Which tasks from the previous sprint are incomplete?
List things I've accomplished in this job to add to my resume.
Who are my points of contact for the Contoso project?
Important
This feature is available to customers with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license or Copilot Pro license. For more information, see Chat with Copilot about your notes and research questions.