Summary
In this module, you explored a new way to work with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Instead of managing a list of tasks one prompt at a time, you can describe an outcome and let Cowork handle the coordination—working across your apps while you stay in the loop through review, steering, and approval.
Before you go
Find your role below and try the example request—or adapt one to fit the work in front of you today. Each prompt follows the patterns covered in this module: lead with the outcome, name the deliverables, give Cowork enough context to plan, and—when useful—set it to repeat.
Tip
These prompts are starting points, not scripts. Replace the bracketed placeholders (for example, [upcoming meeting] or [customer]) with your own details. Some prompts assume specific data or files are available in your environment—adapt them to fit what you actually have, or use them as inspiration when writing your own Cowork requests.
| Role | Example request |
|---|---|
| Executive | "Brief me for [upcoming meeting] — pull the agenda, attendees, and recent context from email and Teams, and flag any decisions still open. Then draft a Word doc I can share with my chief of staff outlining the key talking points and the decisions I need to drive." |
| IT | "Give me a status digest on [migration or rollout] — pull open tickets, blockers, and owners from email, Teams, and shared files. Then draft a Teams message I can post to the project channel flagging the top risks and what I need from each owner this week." |
| Operations | "Scan the last 30 days of incident reports in [OneDrive folder or SharePoint site] and surface the patterns I should be paying attention to. Then build an Excel tracker of the recurring issues with frequency, severity, and suspected root cause so my team can work it down." |
| Finance | "Pull the latest expense data for [team or cost center] and compare it against budget. Drop the variance analysis into Excel with the line items flagged, and draft a short Word summary I can send to leadership calling out where we're off and why." |
| HR | "Summarize the themes from our latest [survey or feedback round] and identify the three areas worth exploring further. Then draft an email I can send to my leadership team proposing next steps and asking for input on prioritization." |
| Legal | "Research [new regulation or policy change] on the web and outline how it could affect our business. Draft a one-pager in Word covering the key provisions and our potential exposure, plus a short email I can send to the impacted business leads flagging what they should know." |
| Sales | "Build a deep account brief on [customer] — pull pipeline activity, recent emails, and meeting notes, plus any public news. Put it in a Word doc I can bring to my next 1:1 with my manager, and draft a follow-up email to the customer raising the three things I want to move forward." |
| Marketing & Comms | "Pull a digest on [recent campaign] — performance across email, web, and social, plus what stakeholders are saying internally. Draft a recap deck in PowerPoint I can walk through with the team, and a short Teams post for the broader org highlighting what worked." |
| Customer Service | "Build a health snapshot for our top [number] accounts — pull recent ticket activity, sentiment, and escalations. Put it in an Excel tracker flagging the accounts worth a deeper look, and schedule this prompt to run every Monday morning so the view stays current." |
What you learned
- Choose the right tool. Use Copilot Chat for single-prompt work like drafting, summarizing, or researching. Use agents for repeatable, scoped jobs. Delegate to Cowork when you can describe an outcome that spans multiple tasks and produces multiple deliverables.
- Describe how Cowork works. You send a request, Cowork plans and carries out supported steps, you approve sensitive actions before they happen, and you review the results in the side panel.
- Write effective requests. Lead with the outcome, name the deliverables, include relevant context, and steer as you go.
- Identify strong Cowork scenarios. Meeting prep, calendar triage, company research, and launch planning all share the coordination-heavy, multi-deliverable shape that Cowork handles well.
- Recognize Cowork's limits. Cowork inherits your Microsoft 365 permissions and doesn't train on your data, but it has real limits today—ambiguous instructions, incomplete results on complex tasks, and the evolving shape of a Frontier preview. Treat outputs as drafts and review before approving.
Share feedback
Cowork is a Frontier preview feature. Microsoft is actively shaping it based on customer input. Use the thumbs up/down buttons, inline comments, and general feedback options inside Cowork to help shape what ships at general availability.