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The easiest way to get started is to look for the Copilot icon (it looks like a little sparkle or ribbon) in the apps you already use - Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, or PowerPoint. Click on it and you’ll see a chat panel where you can ask questions or give instructions. Try something simple like asking Copilot to summarise a long email thread in Outlook, or to create a first draft based on your meeting notes in Word.
Basic licenses give you access to the core Copilot features - drafting content, summarising documents, answering questions about your files. However, some advanced features like detailed SharePoint permissions audits or certain automation capabilities may require upgraded licensing. If you find yourself blocked from something you need, have a chat with your IT admin about what’s included in your current plan.
Yes, there are usage limits, and they can vary depending on your organisation’s licensing. If you hit the limit, you might need to wait a bit before you can continue, or your admin may need to adjust your allocation. To make the most of your responses, try to be specific with your requests upfront rather than going back and forth with lots of follow-up questions.
This is a known limitation at the moment. Copilot can have trouble accessing dynamic SharePoint lists - those ones that update automatically or have complex structures. If you’re hitting this wall, try exporting the list to Excel first and then working with it there. It’s an extra step, but it usually gets the job done while Microsoft continues to improve these integrations.
Copilot works best with clean, simple data structures. If your spreadsheet has merged cells, multiple header rows, or unusual formatting, it can struggle to understand what’s what.Before asking Copilot to help, try restructuring your data so it has a single header row with clear column names, and avoid merged cells where possible. A bit of tidying up goes a long way.
Currently, Copilot on desktop doesn’t have full access to Microsoft Planner data, which can be frustrating if you’re trying to automate project management tasks. This is something Microsoft is working on. In the meantime, you might need to manually copy task information into a Word doc or Excel sheet if you want Copilot’s help analysing or reporting on it.
Unfortunately, Copilot isn’t available in Visio yet, so you won’t be able to use it for process mapping or diagram creation directly.If you need help with process documentation, you could describe your workflow to Copilot in Word or Teams, get it to help you structure the content, and then manually create the visual in Visio. Not ideal, but it’s a workaround until Microsoft expands Copilot’s reach.