What’s New in Copilot | May 2024 

Get ready to read about the latest Copilot updates, features, and enhancements from Microsoft, designed to supercharge your productivity and efficiency within Microsoft 365 applications.  

This month, is packed with excitement as we introduce Microsoft’s expanded language support, fantastic new capabilities in Copilot for Excel and Word, and so much more!  

Get ready to elevate your Copilot experience in the apps you use every day! 

 

Expanded Capabilities 

Copilot with Graph-Grounded Chat in Outlook

Starting in May, you can utilise Copilot in Outlook to connect and reason across your enterprise data, including chats, documents, meetings, and emails.  

Firstly, Copilot will be accessible in the left app bar in classic Microsoft Outlook for Windows, the new Outlook, and Outlook on the web. Furthermore, this feature leverages the Microsoft Graph to provide contextual insights and assistance, thereby making your communications more efficient and informed. 

 

Use Local Files to Ground Copilot Prompts

Microsoft is enhancing Copilot’s ability to reason across your work data.  

Previously, you could ground your prompts in specific files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint by typing “/” followed by the file name. From May, you can also ground your prompts in local files.  

Additionally, for files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint, you can copy and paste file links to ground prompts, facilitating richer and more detailed interactions with Copilot. 

 

Enhanced Document Creation in Word

Copilot will now help you create and manage documents more efficiently in word.  

When you ask Copilot a question in Word chat, it will generate answers using rich, people-centric data and insights from the Microsoft Cloud and Microsoft Graph.  

This lets you stay focused within the app while accessing the necessary information. Here’s the breakdown of these features:  

• Rewrite Feature: The Copilot rewrite feature now allows you to fine-tune specific sections of a document. This enhancement gives you greater control over changes, rewrites, tone, and formatting. Making it easier to refine your content. 
• Draft with Sensitivity Labels: When using Draft with Copilot, you can reference files marked with sensitivity labels. The sensitivity label of the referenced file will automatically apply to the new draft, ensuring that your document maintains the appropriate security and compliance standards. 
• Summarise Text: Copilot can now create summaries of selected text blocks. This feature is available in Word for the web and enables you to quickly generate summaries that can be shared in other documents or emails. 

 

Generate Multiple Formula Columns in Excel

Copilot in Excel now supports generating multiple formula columns from a single prompt.  

For example, you can extract first and last names from a single prompt, neatly separating the information into columns.  

Additionally, Copilot can create complex formula columns that span multiple tables, utilising functions such as ‘XLOOKUP’ and ‘SUMIF’.  

This streamlines data processing and empowers you to handle more complex data analysis tasks efficiently. 

 

Securely Access Copilot Web Chat in the Mobile App

The Copilot mobile app, available on iOS and Android, now includes AI-powered web chat with commercial data protection.  

As a result, this ensures you can stay productive and creative while on the go without worrying about compromised sensitive data.  

Additionally, IT administrators can manage the Copilot mobile app using Microsoft Intune, ensuring security and compliance. 

 

Fine-Tune Prompts with Notebook

Notebook is a new feature in Copilot that allows for longer prompts and iterative refinements. 

Making it particularly useful for tasks such as generating code or developing written content.  

The notebook provides an enhanced scratch pad for refining your prompts over time, helping you achieve the desired response.  

Commercial data protection is maintained, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure. 

 

Expanded Access and Management Copilot Features

New Language Support in Copilot for Microsoft 365

Microsoft is expanding language support in Copilot for Microsoft 365 to include 16 new languages. Such as Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmal), Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian.  

This update ensures that more users can benefit from Copilot’s features in their preferred language. Additionally, Chinese (Traditional) will soon be available, broadening Copilot’s accessibility and who gets to use it. 

 

Manage Copilot Availability in Teams Meetings

Microsoft 365 administrators can now manage Copilot availability in Teams meetings through the Teams admin centre.  

This feature allows admins to select an existing policy or create a new one to control. Therefore, when Copilot is available during meetings, ensuring it is used effectively and appropriately. 

 

Restricted SharePoint Search in Public Preview

Restricted SharePoint search is now in public preview, enabling administrators to review content management and data governance practices without disrupting Copilot deployment.  

This feature allows organisations to restrict enterprise search and Copilot experiences in specific SharePoint sites, providing greater control over data access and security. 

 

Conclusion 

At Changing Social, we recognise Microsoft Copilot’s transformative potential in reshaping workplace productivity and efficiency.  

In fact, the continuous enhancements and expanded capabilities introduced this month are a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to innovation and user-centric design.  

As a leading consultancy specialising in the adoption and change management of Microsoft technologies. We are excited about these developments and their potential to drive significant value for our clients. 

By integrating these new features, organisations can expect enhanced collaboration, streamlined workflows, and improved data insights, which are critical in our world today.  

Therefore, stay tuned for more updates and insights from Changing Social. As we continue to explore and share the latest advancements in Microsoft technologies.  

We can lead digital transformation and create a more productive and efficient workplace. 

 

If you would like to learn more about Copilot and what it can do for your organisation, please do not hesitate to contact us by pressing the green ‘CONTACT’ button to the right of the screen.