Use Copilot in Outlook to Conquer Your Inbox

What This Does

Outlook's Copilot summarizes long email threads into a few bullets, drafts replies in your chosen tone, and helps you catch up on a flooded inbox without reading every message.

Before You Start

• You have Microsoft 365 with the Copilot add-on (available at $30/user/month — check with your IT team)
• You're using the desktop Outlook app or Outlook on the web
• You're logged in with your work Microsoft account

Steps

1. Find the Copilot button in Outlook

Open any email or email thread. Look for the Copilot icon (a small sparkle/star symbol) in the top-right area of the reading pane. In Outlook on the web, it also appears in the top toolbar. Click it to open the Copilot sidebar.

2. Summarize a long thread

With an email thread open, click the Copilot icon and select "Summarize." Copilot reads the entire thread and produces 3–5 bullet points covering key decisions, open questions, and what was agreed upon. For a 40-message thread, this takes about 10 seconds.

3. Draft a reply with the right tone

Click "Draft with Copilot" (visible when composing a reply). In the prompt box, type what you want to say in rough terms — "decline politely and suggest we reconnect next quarter" — and select a tone: Formal, Neutral, Direct, or Casual. Copilot generates a full reply. Review and edit before sending.

4. Catch up after time away

After a vacation or conference, open each inbox folder and use Copilot to summarize the threads. Start with the most recent threads in your executive's inbox. This turns a 3-hour catch-up into a 30-minute triage.

Real Example

Scenario: Your executive returns from a 4-day conference to 380 emails. You need to identify what needs their attention today.

What you do: Open the inbox, sort by thread. Click each key thread → Copilot → Summarize. In 20 minutes you've reviewed 30 threads and flagged 4 that need executive action.

What you get: A list of threads sorted by urgency, with a one-paragraph summary of each — ready to brief the executive in 5 minutes.

Tips

• Use Copilot summaries to prep your daily briefing email to your executive — paste the summaries and highlight what needs their decision
• The "Draft with Copilot" tone selector is most useful when tone matters — choose "Direct" for pushing back, "Warm" for client relationships
• Copilot doesn't send anything automatically — you always review before sending

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/Copilot/sparkle options in the same menu area.