Lilly Tech Systems
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Microsoft 365 Copilot Capabilities
M365 Copilot brings AI assistance to every Microsoft 365 application. Understanding its capabilities across the suite helps organizations identify the highest-value use cases for their teams.
Copilot Across M365 Apps
| Application | Key Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Word | Draft documents, rewrite content, summarize long documents, generate from templates |
| Excel | Analyze data, create formulas, generate charts, identify trends, write Python scripts |
| PowerPoint | Create presentations from prompts, summarize decks, redesign slides, add speaker notes |
| Outlook | Summarize email threads, draft replies, schedule meetings, prioritize inbox |
| Teams | Meeting summaries, catch-up on missed chats, generate action items, recap discussions |
| OneNote | Summarize notes, generate to-do lists, rewrite content, organize information |
| Loop | Collaborative content creation, brainstorming, project planning |
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Copilot Chat (formerly Business Chat) provides a conversational interface that works across all M365 data:
- Cross-app queries: "What did the marketing team discuss about the product launch last week?" searches emails, chats, documents, and meetings
- Content generation: Create documents, presentations, and emails from organizational context
- Information retrieval: Find specific information across SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams
- Task automation: Execute multi-step workflows across M365 applications
Copilot Agents and Extensions
Beyond built-in capabilities, M365 Copilot supports customization:
- Copilot Studio agents: Build custom AI agents that connect to line-of-business data and workflows
- Graph connectors: Index external data sources to make them available in Copilot responses
- Plugins: Extend Copilot with actions from third-party and custom applications
- Declarative agents: Create specialized Copilot experiences for specific roles or departments
The Graph is key: M365 Copilot's power comes from the Microsoft Graph — the unified API that connects all M365 data. The more data indexed in the Graph, the more useful Copilot becomes. This is why SharePoint organization and data governance are prerequisites for Copilot success.
High-impact use cases: The most popular early Copilot use cases are meeting summaries in Teams, email drafting in Outlook, and document creation in Word. Start adoption with these scenarios for quick wins.