Copilot basics: a tour of the screen and what every button does
New to Copilot? A plain-English walk-through of the Copilot app: the left pane, Work and Web, response modes, the message box, and Copilot inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel. With links to Microsoft’s own videos.
By the Sierrix team ·Published · 8 min read
The first time you open Copilot you get a friendly box that says “Message Copilot,” a column of icons down the left, and a few switches at the top that nobody explains. This guide walks through the screen piece by piece: what each button is called, what it does, and which ones matter for a small business.
Your screen may look a little different
Microsoft updates the Copilot app often and shows different options depending on your license. A button can move or be renamed between one month and the next. The areas below stay the same even when the labels shift. This guide reflects the app as of September 2026.
Where to find Copilot
- In a browser: go to copilot.cloud.microsoft and sign in with your work email, the same account you use for Outlook.
- As an app: the Microsoft Copilot app on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. Check that your profile at the bottom of the left pane says Work. If it doesn’t, you’re in a personal account, and your business files and protections aren’t there.
- Inside the apps you already use: Copilot sits in Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, usually as a Copilot icon in the ribbon or the top bar. More on those below.
The screen at a glance
Every version of the Copilot screen has three parts: a left pane for getting around, the chat area in the middle where you type and read answers, and a few controls at the top that decide where Copilot looks for answers.
Try it: tap or hover over any part of the screen.
Hi, how can I help?
Pick any part of the screen
Each button in the drawing explains itself. Or press Play the tour to see them one by one.
All parts as a list
- New chat:
- Starts a fresh conversation. Start a new one whenever you change topic, so the old conversation doesn’t steer the new answer.
- Search:
- Finds your emails, files and past chats when you know something exists but not where.
- Library:
- Everything you’ve made or saved with Copilot, like last week’s image or draft.
- Create:
- Makes images and Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from a description: a flyer, a social post, a first-draft deck.
- Agents:
- Specialist versions of Copilot: Microsoft’s own (Researcher, Analyst) and any your company has built.
- Notebooks:
- A folder of files, notes and chats about one project or client that Copilot works from.
- Pages:
- Shared pages you and colleagues edit together with Copilot, often started from a Copilot answer.
- Cowork:
- Hands Copilot a multi-step job to carry out for you. Needs a paid seat and is billed per task.
- Chats:
- Your past conversations. The ⋯ menu next to one renames or deletes it.
- Your profile:
- Should say Work. If it doesn’t, you’re in a personal account: your business files and protections aren’t there.
- Work / Web:
- Work answers from your email, files and meetings (paid seat). Web answers from the public internet only. Check this first when an answer seems generic.
- Response mode:
- Auto picks for you. Quick response is fast and brief. Think deeper takes longer and reasons more carefully: use it to compare quotes or check numbers.
- Shield:
- Enterprise data protection is on: your prompts and files stay inside your company’s Microsoft 365 and aren’t used to train the AI.
- Suggested prompts:
- Ready-made starting points. Click one to try it, then adjust the result with a follow-up.
- + Add and manage sources:
- Attach a file from your computer or OneDrive, like a PDF, a spreadsheet or a photo, or choose which sources Copilot uses.
- Message Copilot:
- Where you type your request. Type / to pick a file, person, meeting or email (paid seat), or @ to bring in an agent.
- Microphone:
- Start dictation: speak your request instead of typing it.
- Send:
- Sends your request. Enter also sends; Shift+Enter starts a new line.
The left pane
What you see here depends on your license. Free Copilot Chat users see fewer items than people with a paid Copilot seat.
| Item | What it’s for | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| New chat | A blank conversation | You start a new task or topic |
| Search | Finds your emails, files and past chats | You know something exists but not where |
| Library | Everything you’ve made or saved with Copilot | You want last week’s image or draft back |
| Create | Makes images and Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from a description | You need a flyer, a social post image or a first-draft deck |
| Agents | Specialist versions of Copilot, from Microsoft (Researcher, Analyst) or built by your company | A job needs deep research, data analysis or your company’s own knowledge |
| Notebooks | A folder of files, notes and chats about one project that Copilot works from | You keep coming back to the same project or client |
| Pages | A shared page you and colleagues edit together with Copilot | A Copilot answer needs to become a shared working document |
| Cowork | Hands Copilot a multi-step job to carry out for you (paid seat, billed per task) | A chore has several steps across email, calendar and files |
| Chats (history) | Your past conversations; the ⋯ menu renames or deletes one | You want to pick up where you left off |
| Apps | Opens Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and other apps | You want to jump into an app without leaving Copilot |
Not sure which license you have? Microsoft’s page “What Copilot license do I have?” explains how to tell from the labels in your apps.
The controls at the top
Work and Web
This switch decides where Copilot looks. In Web mode it answers from the public internet only, which is good for general research, news and brainstorming. In Work mode it answers from your own email, files, meetings and chats, only what you already have permission to open. Work mode needs a paid Copilot seat, except Copilot Chat in Outlook, which can see your own inbox and calendar on the free tier.
If Copilot gives you a generic answer to a question about your business, check this switch first.
Response mode: Auto, Quick response, Think deeper
Auto (the default) picks the right approach for each question. Quick response answers fast and briefly, fine for a rewrite or a simple question. Think deeper takes longer and works through the problem step by step. Use it to compare proposals, check a calculation or plan something with many moving parts.
The shield
A shield icon means enterprise data protection is on: you’re signed in with your work account, your prompts and files are covered by the same protections as your company email, and they aren’t used to train the AI. If you don’t see it, you may be signed in with a personal account. Don’t put business data there.
The message box
- Message Copilot is where you type your request, called a “prompt.” Write it the way you’d brief a capable new assistant: what you want, who it’s for and what it should look like. Our guide How to get real work out of Microsoft Copilot covers this in detail.
- + (Add and manage sources) attaches a file from your computer or OneDrive: a PDF, a spreadsheet, a photo of a whiteboard. On the free tier, this is how you give Copilot your own material.
- / (slash): with a paid seat, type / to pick a specific file, person, meeting or email for Copilot to use, instead of hoping it finds the right one.
- @ (at sign) brings an agent into the conversation, such as the Word, Excel or PowerPoint Agent to build a whole document.
- Microphone (Start dictation) lets you speak your prompt. Handy in the truck between jobs.
- Send (the arrow) sends your prompt. Press Enter to send, or Shift+Enter for a new line.
Under each answer
- Numbered references in the text show where each fact came from: a web page, a file or an email. Click them before you rely on a number, a date or a name.
- Copy copies the answer with its formatting, ready to paste into an email or document.
- Thumbs up and down send feedback to Microsoft. They don’t change the answer.
- Edit in Pages (where available) moves the answer onto a page you can keep editing and share with colleagues.
- Suggested follow-ups under the answer are one click away, but your own follow-up is usually better: “shorter,” “in a table,” “less formal.”
Copilot inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel
With a paid Copilot seat, Copilot also appears inside the apps, where it can see what you’re working on. Look for the Copilot icon:
| App | Where to find it | Good first things to try |
|---|---|---|
| Outlook | The Copilot icon in the ribbon, and a summary option at the top of an email thread | Summarize a long thread, draft a reply, “what do I need to respond to today?” |
| Teams | The Copilot icon in a meeting or chat, and the Recap tab after a recorded or transcribed meeting | “What did I miss?”, action items with owners, a follow-up email |
| Word | The Copilot icon in the ribbon, or the Copilot prompt on a blank page | Draft from notes or another file, summarize a long document, rewrite a section |
| Excel | The Copilot icon in the ribbon (works best when data is formatted as a table) | Ask questions about the data, add a formula column, build a chart |
| PowerPoint | The Copilot icon in the ribbon | Turn a Word document into a deck, summarize a presentation |
On the free tier, what you see in these apps depends on your version. If the Copilot pane says “Copilot Chat,” it can help with what you paste in but can’t read your other files.
Words you’ll see
- Prompt
- What you type or say to Copilot.
- Grounding
- The material Copilot bases its answer on: the web, your files, or both.
- Work IQ
- Microsoft’s name for the layer that connects Copilot to your email, files, meetings and chats in Work mode.
- Agent
- A version of Copilot set up for one job, with its own instructions and knowledge. See How to build a Copilot agent.
- Enterprise data protection
- The protections that keep your prompts and files inside your company’s Microsoft 365 and out of AI training. Shown by the shield.
- Notebook
- A project folder of files, notes and chats that Copilot uses as its source.
- Page
- A shared, editable document you create from a Copilot answer.
- Copilot Credits
- Microsoft’s pay-per-use currency for things outside the seat, like Cowork tasks. See the six levels of Copilot.
- Frontier
- Microsoft’s early-preview program. Features marked Frontier aren’t finished yet; don’t build your business around them.
Microsoft’s own videos and training
Microsoft keeps short official videos that show the screen in motion. These are the best places to start:
- Copilot tutorial: Start using Copilot (about 2 minutes)
- Video tutorial: About Microsoft Copilot Chat
- Video tutorial: Try out Copilot Chat on desktop, mobile, Edge or the web
- All Microsoft Copilot video tutorials, including short videos on writing prompts
- Explore how Microsoft Copilot Chat works: a free, self-paced Microsoft Learn course that covers the screen, Work and Web modes and data protection (updated September 2026)
Sources
- Navigate Microsoft Copilot Chat (Microsoft Learn training, September 2026)
- Get started with the Microsoft Copilot app: support.microsoft.com
- Get started with Microsoft Copilot Chat: support.microsoft.com
- Microsoft Copilot app overview: learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-app-overview