Getting Productive with Microsoft Copilot Chat: A Hands-On Half-Day Workshop (1 day)

This half day or one day hands-on workshop is designed for business professionals, team leads, and knowledge workers using Microsoft 365 who want to become productive with Microsoft Copilot Chat. Participants learn what Copilot Chat is, how it fits into the wider Copilot and Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and how to access it across tools such as Teams, Word, Outlook, and Excel. Through practical exercises, they explore prompt design, real-world workflows, and safe, responsible use so they can apply Copilot Chat confidently to everyday tasks.

Objectives

Explain what Microsoft Copilot Chat is and how it fits into the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem
Access and navigate Copilot Chat in Teams, Word, Outlook, and other supported entry points
Design effective prompts that use clarity, specificity, and context to get useful results
Apply Copilot Chat to common business tasks such as document creation, email management, and simple data analysis
Use multi-step and iterative prompting to refine and improve Copilot outputs
Describe key best practices, privacy considerations, and governance principles for responsible AI use

Prerequisites

Basic familiarity with Microsoft 365 tools such as Teams, Word, Outlook, and Excel
Access to an environment where Microsoft Copilot or Copilot Chat is enabled

Introduction and Context

Understand what Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat are and how they relate to AI in Microsoft 365
Review where AI appears across Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and other tools
Differentiate between Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat, including capabilities and limitations
Explore real-world examples of Copilot Chat use in day-to-day work

Getting Started with Copilot Chat

Locate and open Copilot Chat in Teams, Word, and Outlook
Identify options for accessing Copilot or Copilot Chat experiences outside of Office 365 where relevant
Navigate the Copilot Chat interface, including chat history, prompts, and context
Configure key settings and understand privacy and data usage considerations
Explain how Copilot Chat uses document, email, and meeting context to generate responses

Crafting Effective Prompts

Apply core principles of prompt design: clarity, specificity, and context
Compare examples of effective and ineffective prompts for common business scenarios
Use prompts to automate tasks in Excel, Word, and Outlook through Copilot Chat
Practise multi-step and iterative prompting to refine Copilot outputs

Copilot Chat in Action: Hands-On Tasks

Use Copilot Chat to generate and refine documents such as reports, templates, and briefs
Manage and summarise email threads in Outlook using Copilot Chat
Apply Copilot Chat to simple data analysis and chart suggestions in Excel
Use Copilot Chat to produce meeting notes and action items from Teams meetings or transcripts
Work through guided scenarios that mirror typical business workflows

Best Practices, Governance, and Next Steps

Identify key data security and compliance considerations when using Copilot Chat
Decide when to trust, verify, or challenge AI-generated content
Discuss how to collaborate with colleagues while using AI tools in shared documents and channels
Apply tips for improving productivity without over-relying on AI assistance
Recap key features, share prompt examples, and explore resources for ongoing learning