How to Use Copilot in Microsoft Word: A Complete Guide

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Use Copilot to quickly draft, rewrite & transform Word documents
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Need an introduction to Microsoft 365's AI helper tool, Copilot? You’ve come to the right place! Copilot can be a helpful way to brainstorm writing ideas, generate outlines, or get quick drafts of documents that are easy to tweak as needed; you can also get Copilot to rewrite or expand on existing text, if needed. In this handy guide, we’ll show you how to do each of those things—and use Copilot’s chat feature to ask more in-depth queries. Let’s get started!

An Overview of How to Use Copilot’s AI Features

  • Drafting new text: Click the Copilot icon to open the compose box. Type in your prompt and hit Generate; Copilot will create the new content.
  • Rewriting text: Highlight a chunk of text (or a table) with your cursor and open the Copilot compose box. Select Auto rewrite to have Copilot revise the text.
  • Chatting with Copilot: Click the Copilot icon on the Home tab, type your question or comment into the text field, and hit Enter to get a response.
Section 1 of 5:

Drafting Text with Copilot

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  1. 1
    Create a new, blank document. Open Microsoft Word and, from the home screen, simply select the Blank document option. Alternatively, you can use a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + N (Windows) or Cmd + N (Mac).
    • You need to be on a document page (new or existing) to use Copilot—you can’t use it from Word’s home screen.
  2. 2
    Select the Copilot icon and type a prompt into the box. From the blank document page, select the Copilot icon (which looks like Copilot’s logo), typically located in the document’s left margin. This will open the Draft with Copilot experience. In the text field provided, write a description of what you’re looking for—the more detailed, the better. You can write a simple sentence if that’s all you need, or something longer and more in-depth.[1]
    • Example Copilot prompts could include:
      • “Help me brainstorm ideas for a project.”
      • “Create a job offer letter for a marketing manager position at [company].”
      • “Write a paragraph about project management.”
      • “Write an article on the benefits of self-care with tips on how to practice it.”
    • If you're not able to use Copilot in Word, you may just need to set it up. Jump down to How to Enable Copilot to learn how!
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  3. 3
    Generate the draft and decide what you want to do with it. When you’re finished typing the prompt, simply select Generate. Copilot will generate the content you requested; from here, read over the text and see if it fits what you’re looking for.[2]
  4. 4
    Use the “Reference a file” button to include existing files in the draft. If you want Copilot to use an existing document as a source for its text generation, select Reference a file (with a paperclip icon) from the Copilot box, or type / followed by your document’s name into the text field.[3]
  5. 5
    Decide whether to keep, regenerate, or discard Copilot’s content. After you’ve read through Copilot’s content, select Keep it if you’re satisfied and want to keep what it wrote. If you’d like Copilot to try again, select Regenerate (which looks like two arrows forming a circle)—or, if you want to just discard everything, select Discard (the trash can icon).
    • It’s a good idea to proofread everything Copilot generates for you. You’ll need to ensure the tone and style are right—and that the writing is accurate, of course!
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Section 2 of 5:

Adding Text to a Document with Copilot

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  1. 1
    Navigate to a blank line in the Word document. This process is pretty much the same as generating text for a blank document—the only difference is that there’s already text or other content in the document. If you want Copilot to add to an existing document, start by finding (and clicking on) a blank line in the document, so you can see the cursor blinking there.[4]
    • Ideally, locate the spot where you want Copilot to add the text—whether it’s at the end of the document, or somewhere in the middle of the existing content.
  2. 2
    Select the Copilot icon and fill in the prompt box. Locate the Copilot icon (which looks like Copilot’s logo) in the document’s left margin and click on it. Then, in the prompt box that opens, type out your request. When you’re done, hit Generate; Copilot will begin generating the prompt for you.[5]
  3. 3
    Decide whether to keep, regenerate, or discard Copilot’s content. Review the generated content. If you like it and want to officially add it to the document, select Keep it (the button with the check mark). If you don’t like it and want to discard it, select Discard (the trash can icon). Alternatively, if you want Copilot to try again, select Regenerate (the refresh icon).
    • You can also fine-tune the prompt before trying again by entering more details into the compose box.
    • For instance, you might adjust the prompt and tell Copilot to “Make it sound formal” or “Make it sound casual” if you’re aiming for a specific tone.
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Section 3 of 5:

Rewriting & Transforming Text with Copilot

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  1. 1
    Highlight a chunk of existing text in the document. Select the text (or other piece of content, like a list or table) that you want Copilot to change. In most cases, that just means highlighting the content with your cursor!
  2. 2
    Select the Copilot icon and select “Auto rewrite.” Once again, you’ll find the Copilot icon in the document’s left margin. When you select it, the prompt box will open; since you’ve already selected text for editing, just use the prompt box to tell Copilot what you want it to do with that text. Then, select Auto rewrite from the menu, and Copilot will compile a few rewritten options to review.[6]
    • Use the < and > buttons to navigate and review all of Copilot’s suggestions.
  3. 3
    Ask Copilot to revise the text as a table, alternatively. You can also have Copilot transform content—meaning you can ask it to reformat text as a table, if you like. To do that, select Visualize as a table from the Copilot menu.[7]
    • Just as above, use the < and > buttons to navigate and review all of Copilot’s suggestions.
    • It’s also possible to give additional instructions for the newly-created table; for example, you could type “Add an empty fifth row” into the compose box.
  4. 4
    Decide whether to keep, tweak, or discard Copilot’s rewrite. If you’re satisfied with the rewritten text (or newly-made table), select Keep it. Otherwise, select the Regenerate button (with a refresh symbol) to have Copilot give the prompt another try, and Discard (with a trash can symbol) to throw out the generated content.
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Section 4 of 5:

Chatting with Copilot

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  1. 1
    Open the main Copilot pane. Select the Copilot icon from Word’s Home tab; this will open up the main Copilot pane, where you should see the option to “chat” with Copilot. You’ll get AI responses, obviously—but you can use the chat feature to ask Copilot a question about a document, ask for a summary, or get some ideas to work with if you need a little inspiration.[8]
  2. 2
    Type your question or comment into the text box and press “Enter.” You’ll see a text field (that says “Ask me anything about this document”). Type your text into that box, whether you’re looking for a summary or have a question about the document’s content. From there, Copilot will generate a response to your query—and you can continue responding to that as well.[9]
    • Example questions about a document could include:
      • “What are the key points in this document?”
      • “Is there a theme or thesis in this document?”
      • “Provide a summary of the document.”
    • Other example queries could include:
      • “Give me a banana bread recipe.”
      • “Show me instructions for making a paper airplane.”
      • “Write a funny limerick.”
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Section 5 of 5:

How to Enable Copilot in Microsoft Word

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  1. 1
    Check your subscription, license, and current version of Word. Before you go about enabling Copilot, make sure you’re using the right version of Microsoft Word! You need an active Microsoft 365 subscription (personal, family, or business) with a Copilot license. You should also make sure you’re using the latest version of Microsoft Word.[10]
    • To check your license:
      • Open the Word app.
      • Navigate to File → Account.
      • Check your license information here. You can also opt to Switch License or Update License if need be.
    • To update Office:
      • Open the Word app.
      • Navigate to File → Account.
      • Under Product Information, select Update Options → Update Now.
      • When the update is done installing, close the window.
  2. 2
    Enable Copilot via Options. Once you’ve verified that you’re using a version of Word that’s equipped with Copilot, you can enable the feature! Thankfully, it’s an easy process. Here’s how to enable Copilot using Word’s Options menu:
    • Select File from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
    • Select Options.
    • Select Copilot from a tab on the left side of the Options menu (which opens in a separate window).
    • Make sure the Enable Copilot option is checked (and check it if not). This will enable Copilot!
  3. 3
    Navigate to the Trust Center. Even if Copilot is enabled, there’s one more thing to do to make sure it works. To start, select File from the menu bar, then navigate to Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings.
  4. 4
    Open the Trust Center’s Privacy Settings. On the Trust Center Settings page, look for the Privacy Options tab to the left and select it, followed by the Privacy Settings button (which will open yet another new window). Now, scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the Connected experiences heading. Make sure all the boxes under this heading are checked; this will enable all of Copilot’s features![11]
    • That means checking boxes for Turn on experiences that analyze your content and Turn on experiences that download online content.
    • When you’re done, select OK to close the window.
  5. 5
    Restart Microsoft Word so the Copilot icon appears. Close out Microsoft Word, wait a few seconds, and then reopen it. You should now see the Copilot icon in the document’s left margin and be able to use Copilot’s features as described above!
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References

  1. ↑ https://youtu.be/7P0Yjiyuivk?t=143
  2. ↑ https://youtu.be/7P0Yjiyuivk?t=181
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/welcome-to-copilot-in-word-2135e85f-a467-463b-b2f0-c51a46d625d1
  4. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/welcome-to-copilot-in-word-2135e85f-a467-463b-b2f0-c51a46d625d1
  5. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/welcome-to-copilot-in-word-2135e85f-a467-463b-b2f0-c51a46d625d1
  6. ↑ https://youtu.be/7P0Yjiyuivk?t=425
  7. ↑ https://youtu.be/7P0Yjiyuivk?t=476
  8. ↑ https://youtu.be/9RRK-mmoUBM?t=316
  9. ↑ https://youtu.be/7P0Yjiyuivk?t=88
  1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-find-and-enable-missing-copilot-button-in-microsoft-365-apps-c8482b93-4b96-4bb8-8ec9-5148f4d42441
  2. ↑ https://youtu.be/9RRK-mmoUBM?t=187

About This Article

Glenn Carreau
Co-authored by:
Glenn Carreau
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau. Glenn Carreau is a wikiHow Staff Writer, currently based in Los Angeles. With over four years of experience writing for several online publications, she has covered topics ranging from world history to the entertainment industry. Glenn graduated with honors from Columbia College Chicago, earning a B.A. in Interactive Arts and Media and a minor in Professional Writing. Today, Glenn continues to feed her lifelong love of learning while serving wikiHow's many readers.
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Updated: April 3, 2026
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Categories: Microsoft Office
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