What is a Prompt?

A prompt is anything you type or say to Copilot.  It can be a question, a task, or something you want written for you. Think of a prompt like asking a helpful coworker for assistance.

Examples:

• “Summarize this email for me.”
• “Help me write a message to my team.”
• “Explain this in simple terms.”
• “What steps should I take next?”

Copilot understands short or long prompts, both work.  Adding a little detail can make your results clearer.

Good prompt

“Create a short, friendly message reminding my team about tomorrow’s meeting.”

Tips for Great Prompt:

• Tell Copilot what you want
• Add context (who, what, when)
• Mention the tone you prefer (friendly, professional, simple, etc.)
• Tell it the format you want (list, paragraph, bullets, summary)

You Can Add More Prompts Anytime.  You don’t have to start over every time.  Just keep typing like a normal conversation. Copilot remembers what you said earlier within the same conversation, so updates are easy.

• “Make it shorter.”
• “Add an example.”
• “Write it in simple language.”
• “Fix spelling and grammar.”
• “Turn this into bullet points.”

How Copilot Understands You (in simple terms)

Copilot doesn’t “think” or “know” things like a person does — but it does process your words in a smart way.

Here’s the simple version of what happens:

1. You type a prompt. Example: “Help me summarize this document.”
2. Copilot reads your message as plain text. It looks at the wording to understand what you’re asking.
3. It looks at the rest of the conversation for context. So it remembers your earlier requests in this session.
4. It uses patterns it has learned from language to predict a helpful answer. It does not browse your personal information unless you include it.
5. It forms a reply in natural language.  The goal is to be clear, helpful, and aligned with what you asked.

If You Don’t Like the First Answer, Just Ask Again.  It won’t be offended, Copilot is designed for back‑and‑forth conversation. You can always say:

• “Try again.”
• “Give me more options.”
• “Explain this more simply.”
• “Rewrite it in a more professional tone.”

Here are some practical add‑on prompts to keep the conversation going.  You can think of follow-up prompts like giving Copilot gentle course corrections.

For writing help

• “Shorter, please.”
• “Add bullet points.”
• “Make it sound more confident.”

For work tasks

• “Create a step-by-step plan.”
• “Give me talking points for a meeting.”
• “Summarize this in one paragraph.”

For explanations

• “Explain this like I’m new to the topic.”
• “Give me a simple definition.”
• “What are the pros and cons?”

When to Start a New Conversation.  Start fresh when:

• You’re switching to a completely different topic
• The agent feels “confused” or goes off track
• You want clean, context-free answers

Final Tips for Getting the Most Out of Copilot

• Treat it like a helpful assistant you can revise and guide
• Be specific when the task matters
• Don’t be afraid to ask for changes
• Use follow-up prompts to shape the answer
• Keep adding context if you want better accuracy
• The more you guide it, the better the results.
• As reminder, nothing replaces human review of AI content.