Personalize Copilot with memory and custom instructions
Writing an effective prompt is about giving Copilot the right context — but you don't have to repeat yourself every time. Microsoft Copilot Chat includes personalization features that let Copilot remember who you are, how you work, and what you prefer, so every prompt builds on a foundation of context Copilot already has.
Custom instructions
Custom instructions are a one-time setup that tells Copilot how you want it to respond across all your conversations. Think of them as a standing brief: you describe your role, communication preferences, or any recurring context you'd otherwise include in every prompt.
For example, you might tell Copilot:
"I'm a project manager. Keep responses concise and use bullet points. Avoid technical jargon."
Once saved, those preferences apply automatically to every conversation. You no longer need to add "be concise" or "use bullet points" to individual prompts — Copilot already knows.
To set custom instructions, open your Copilot Chat settings, look for Personalization, and select Custom instructions. Enter your preferences and save.
Tip
Think about what you currently repeat in every prompt — your role, your audience, your preferred format. Move those standing details into custom instructions so your prompts can stay focused on the task itself.
Copilot memory
Copilot Memory allows Copilot to remember relevant details from your conversations and apply them in future interactions. Rather than starting from scratch each time, Copilot arrives with context already in place.
Copilot builds memory in two ways:
- Saved memories — when Copilot detects something worth remembering from your conversation, it may prompt you to save it. You can also proactively tell Copilot to remember something by including it in your prompt, for example: "Remember that I prefer Excel over PowerPoint for reporting."
- Chat history inferences — patterns and preferences Copilot recognizes from your previous conversations and uses to improve future responses
Over time, Copilot becomes a more effective assistant because it understands your context without being told each time.
Note
Copilot Memory is available to both Copilot Chat (Basic) and Microsoft Copilot users. Your organization's admin controls whether this feature is available. If you don't see personalization options in your settings, contact your IT administrator.
Manage memories and instructions
Your memories are yours to control. From your Copilot Chat settings under Personalization, you can:
- View saved memories — see what Copilot has stored about you
- Delete a specific memory — remove a detail you no longer want Copilot to use
- Turn off chat history — stop Copilot from using past conversations to personalize future responses
- Update or clear custom instructions — revise your standing preferences as your role or needs change
Important
Deleting a conversation doesn't remove memories saved from that conversation — delete them directly from your personalization settings. Turning off saved memories stops Copilot from adding new ones, but doesn't delete existing memories. Use Delete all memories to fully clear what Copilot has stored.
Start a temporary chat
Sometimes you want a fresh, neutral response without Copilot drawing on your saved memories or past conversations. For those moments, you can start a temporary chat.
In a temporary chat:
- Copilot doesn't access your saved memories or custom instructions
- The conversation doesn't appear in your chat history and can't be referenced later by you or Copilot
- No memories are saved from the session
To start a temporary chat, look for the Start a new temporary chat option in Copilot Chat.
Important
Temporary chat data may still be retained according to your organization's data retention policy and could be accessible by your IT administrator during that period.
Together, custom instructions and Copilot memory create a smarter starting point for every prompt — and in the next unit, you'll discover how Prompt Lab makes it easy to find, save, and share the prompts that work best for you.