How to write an effective Copilot prompt
Microsoft Copilot is incredibly handy for assisting you with tasks. Whether you’re drafting an email, requesting information, or need a lengthy document summarized, Copilot can certainly take some work off your plate. However, it is important to remember that Copilot is still in its early stages of development, and it will not always perfectly comprehend everything it is asked to do.
We have found that the way prompts are phrased can really make or break the usefulness of Copilot’s responses. In this blog, we’ll share some tips for writing effective prompts so that you can get the most out of your interactions with Copilot, no matter where you are using the AI.
Be concise and provide context
Specific language is key, so include detailed information that gives clear direction, such as a list of supporting details you would like included in the response, who the audience is, and even the purpose of the text. For example, you will get different responses if you differentiate between wanting Copilot to create a blog, report, or an email response.
We also recommend indicating your desired output. If you’re looking for a bulleted list, a paragraph, an outline, or even a poem, clearly stating this helps guide Copilot so that you get the precise answer you’re seeking. Lastly, you can even specify the tone you’d like your message to convey. Whether you need a professional, casual, or confident tone, being clear about this helps Copilot deliver content that matches your style. Don’t be afraid to tell Copilot exactly what you need.
When prompting Copilot, be sure to include any relevant details to guide the creation of your content
Vet Copilot’s sources
When asked for information, Copilot will provide the sources for its responses. When you need Copilot to include verified, factual information, be sure to specify the sources you’d like Copilot to use, such as peer-reviewed journal articles. Copilot will often default to Wikipedia, which is fine in many cases, but if you are writing a report, for example, you might need sources that are a little more reputable.
If you are concerned about the legitimacy of the sources used by Copilot, specifying which types of sources Copilot should use to prepare its response can help reduce the work you need to do to verify the legitimacy of the information. Including these parameters in the initial prompt can enhance the quality and relevance of the information provided.
Specify the type of sources you’d like Copilot to use.
Try again
If you're dissatisfied with the first response to a given prompt, tweak your prompt and try again. Changing the wording or order of details can sometimes lead to different results. Sometimes, even reusing the same prompt can even yield varied outcomes. Don’t be discouraged—much like human miscommunications, AI sometimes interprets what you ask for in a different way than you intended. If you’ve ever struggled to find the search results you needed on Google and learned that using a different term yielded the results you wanted, you’re already on your way.
The chat prompt gallery has many suggestions that might be helpful, and though Copilot can often understand and process responses to prompts from the gallery faster, they are generally generic, or even sometimes too specific for most users’ purposes.
That being said, we have found the follow-up questions suggested by Copilot to be more useful. The main takeaway is that Copilot doesn’t always give perfect responses, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t able to—you might just have to reword your prompt or include additional information to get the content you are looking for.
Ultimately, Copilot can effectively generate useful content that saves users a significant amount of time and work. However, the content generated depends entirely on the prompts it receives. To recap, we recommend using concise language, including as many relevant details as possible, and knowing that you might need to tweak your prompts from time to time to obtain the results you’re looking for.
As with anything, the more you practice, the more you’ll familiarize yourself with how Copilot interprets and responds to the prompts provided, and the better you’ll get at writing effective prompts that it can comprehend. Remember, though, that each interaction with Copilot is a fresh start, so it won’t be able to recall conversations from past sessions. This ensures that Copilot’s information is unbiased and accurate based on the current context and information provided.
If you want information about how Copilot can assist you within specific Microsoft applications, check out our other blogs about app-specific Copilot tools —>
If you’re wondering how Copilot can help with your specific tasks, feel free to reach out; we’d love to help!