How to Configure Copilot Draft with Copilot and Coaching in New Outlook

Composing delicate executive updates, negotiating sensitive client proposals, or summarizing lengthy email threads consumes hours of executive and employee time every week. Striking the right professional tone without appearing overly blunt or wordy often requires multiple revisions. Microsoft integrates generative artificial intelligence directly into the communication canvas through Copilot in Outlook. Available in the new Microsoft Outlook for Windows and the web, Copilot provides two distinct capabilities: Draft with Copilot (which generates tailored responses from natural language prompts) and Coaching by Copilot (which audits your written draft for tone, sentiment, and clarity).

Licensing Prerequisites and Setup

To unlock Copilot features within Microsoft Outlook:

• Account Requirements: A corporate Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, or E5 license paired with a Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on subscription, or a personal Microsoft 365 Family/Personal account with Copilot Pro.
• Client Support: The new Outlook for Windows (toggle switch in the upper-right corner) or Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com).

Generating Initial Email Drafts with Copilot

To produce a well-structured email from simple bullet points:

1. Open the new Outlook and click New mail (or click Reply on an active message thread).
2. In the blank email body canvas, locate and click the blue Draft with Copilot button (or press the Copilot icon in the top formatting ribbon).
3. In the prompt box, describe your communication objective (e.g., “Draft an email thanking the marketing team for Q3 campaign results and ask for next steps on Q4 strategy”).
4. Click the Generate options button (the slider icon) to configure tone and length:
   • Tone: Choose from Professional, Casual, Direct, Neutral, or Make it a poem.
   • Length: Select Short, Medium, or Long.
5. Click Generate. Copilot crafts a complete draft complete with greeting, structured paragraphs, call to action, and sign-off.
6. Review the draft. Click Keep it to accept, Regenerate for a fresh variation, or enter revision instructions (e.g., “Make it more urgent and mention Friday’s deadline”).

Refining Message Impact with Coaching by Copilot

When you have already written an important email and want an objective AI critique before hitting send:

1. Write your email draft in your own words.
2. In the top compose ribbon under the Message tab, click the Copilot button and select Coaching by Copilot.
3. Copilot scans your text and opens an evaluation panel with three distinct scores:
   • Tone: Detects whether the message might be perceived as aggressive, dismissive, overly apologetic, or appropriately confident.
   • Reader Sentiment: Predicts how the recipient will interpret your message based on sentence complexity and phrasing.
   • Clarity: Identifies ambiguous statements or buried calls to action.
4. Review Copilot’s side-by-side alternative suggestions. Click Apply suggestion to incorporate improved phrasing directly into your email.