Microsoft Copilot has a text field where you
can type or speak a prompt to the AI, and what you type in directly affects the quality of the
response that you get back. So how do you make sure that what you enter is good? In this video,
in partnership with Microsoft, we'll explore how you can master Microsoft Copilot prompting to
get the highest possible quality response back. Let's dive in. First off, what even is a prompt?
A prompt is a set of instructions or questions you use to tell Copilot what you want. It's
basically the start of a conversation. If you go to a cookie store and tell them that you're
hungry, they won't be able to help you much, except to maybe ask you, what's that cookie you
might want? It's the same with a prompt. If you don't give it enough information or details,
its help will be limited. Here, for example, I'm on copilot.microsoft.com. Simply navigate
here to start using Copilot. You can click on the link right up here. I want to pull together
marketing copy for the Kevin Cookie Company. Let's experiment with a few different prompts to see
what type of results we get back. Let's start by entering in the goal. My manager has asked me
to pull together marketing copy or messaging, promoting one of our new cookies here at the Kevin
Cookie Company. Down below in the text field, I'll type in my prompt. I want marketing
copy. Seems reasonable enough. Over on the right-hand side, let's submit that to the Copilot.
And look at that, there's no marketing copy. But then again, I can't blame Copilot. Here it says,
sure, I can help you with that. Could you please provide more details about what you need, and
here it has some follow-up questions. It's an okay prompt, but we really need to give it more
information. Copilot is begging us for more detail and context so it can help us with this request.
So why don't we add a little bit more detail? Right down at the bottom, I have my original
prompt. I want marketing copy, but that wasn't enough detail for the Copilot, so let's add some
context. Here at the very end, I'll type in some additional text. I want marketing copy for the
Kevin Cookie Company. Please highlight our new cookie, the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's for
an email campaign to customers who have shopped with us before and we’d like them to try this new
cookie. I think that's enough detail for Copilot to go on. So over on the right-hand side, let's
send that in. Now look up above. This response is already so much better. Here it knows that we're
sending out an email so it generates a subject. Here it formats the email and it knows that we're
selling the new Double Chocolate Chip Cookie, so it includes that in the message. Here it
talks about reasons people will love these cookies. Now it calls out a 10% discount, but we
don't discount here at the Kevin Cookie Company. Our cookies are that good. So, I'd probably go in
and make some modifications, but overall, this is a really good starting point. Now, honestly, this
is really good and we could be done at this point, but if we want to make it even better,
we can include some of our expectations. So, what do I mean by that? Well,
we know that our messages perform better when they have some humor and they're
also written at a fifth grade reading level. It's true. We sell more cookies when we use simple
language. So why don't we include some of these expectations as part of our prompt? And let's
see what we get back. Down in the text field, I have the prompts that gave me this output and
overall, it did a really solid job, but I do want to continue refining it. So here at the very
end, let me add some additional detail. Here, I'll add some additional text. Use simple language
that a fifth grader could read and include some humor. And also, I feel like this is a little bit
long, so let's see if we can keep it to less than 200 words. Over here, let's send that to the AI.
If we look up above, this message now is getting so much better. As I improve my prompt,
the output is also improving. Right here, we can see that it incorporated some humor. If
you love chocolate, and who doesn't? That's a nice touch. If we go down a little bit, it looks like
the text has been simplified. So really anyone should be able to read this. And we also see that
the overall message is shorter. The one thing I don't like though, it says why you'll love it, and
then it lists out three different differentiators for these cookies. Now at the Kevin Cookie
Company, we have our own differentiators that we've already brainstormed as a team, and I want
the AI to incorporate these into the message. And that brings us to the last component that you
can incorporate into your prompt. Right down below, I'll type in some text to incorporate
differentiators from the attached document. So, I could specify a source document. Over here,
I'll drag and drop my file into the prompt, and that'll now include it as part of my prompt.
Let's now try sending this to the Copilot. And look at that, if we scroll up a little bit, it's
taken all those differentiators from my document, and it's now incorporated them into this marketing
message. That is perfect. As a recap, to write the best quality prompts in Copilot, make sure that
you use the following structure with four parts. Start with the goal, then add some context, set
your expectations, and then include any source material that you want the Copilot to reference as
part of its response. Now, you can enter a great prompt upfront, with just one go, or you could
go back and forth with the Copilot a few times until you get what you want. There's really no
right or wrong. Your first prompt is really just the start of a conversation. As you get better at
writing prompts, you'll likely find that it helps save time, and it's also easier to just get more
information upfront. At least that's what I find. Sometimes it's hard to know what Copilot can do
for you, and you may need some inspiration for prompts. In all the Microsoft 365 apps, like Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, right up here, if you click on the Copilot logo, that'll open
up a pane, and here, you have that text field where you can prompt the AI. But right up above,
you'll see all sorts of different sample starter prompts that will give you some inspiration. For
example, you can use Copilot to help you create a presentation from a file. Maybe you have a Word
document. Over here, you could help it understand a presentation. So maybe you just wanted to
summarize a long slide deck. You could do that too. Now, these are just a few examples. If you
go all the way to the bottom, you'll see this icon that says View Prompts. When you click on this, it
has a few different categories. Here, for example, I'll click on Create. Again, you can create an
entire presentation, or you could just create some slides. That's just a few examples. Here,
you can have it help you understand the slide presentation. So again, you could summarize,
but you could also ask specific questions, like are there any dates or deadlines? Show me
all the action items, or maybe just the key slides from this deck. You have those options. And here,
you see all sorts of different sample categories of prompts. And down at the bottom, if you need
even more inspiration, here, we could click into View More Prompts. This opens up the Copilot lab.
And here, we see a very comprehensive list of all sorts of different prompts that you could use in
the various Microsoft 365 applications. And here, you can even filter down to view specific
types of prompts. And if you need even more, down at the bottom, click on See All Prompts. That
should give you inspiration for your own prompts, and it also lets you know what all is possible.
Here is another example. I'm in Microsoft Excel. And over on the right-hand side, in the Copilot
pane, here, we see a different set of prompts that help show you how you can use Copilot with Excel.
Down below, I'll click on View Prompts. Click on Create. And here, you'll see different ways that
you could use Copilot. For example, you could generate formula column suggestions. You could add
a column. You could extract data from a column. Here, I am in Outlook, and you'll see a completely
different set of starter prompts. For example, you could have it draft an email. You could have
it set your out of office. If we go down to the bottom, I'll click on this icon. And we can see
all sorts of different sample prompts that show you how you can use Copilot in Outlook. Now, all
the different Microsoft 365 apps have Copilot, and Copilot is fine-tuned to work within the
context of that application. As you start using Copilot more and more, you likely won't
need to rely on these sample prompts. Instead, you'll already know the power of Copilot and what
type of prompts you can just type in in this text field down below. My recommendation, just start
experimenting with prompts to see what type of results you can get back. The more you prompt,
the more you'll see how you can incorporate Copilot into your day-to-day workflows. If you're
excited about exploring even more about Copilot, I highly recommend checking out the Copilot lab
made by Microsoft. You can click on the card right up above and that'll take you there. You'll
find guides to writing powerful prompts. It's a fantastic resource and well worth reviewing. And
for those of you looking to really master Copilot, be sure to visit the Microsoft Copilot for
Microsoft 365 training. You can click on the card right up above. These are training
courses catered specifically to different roles and functions like HR, finance, executives,
operations, sales, IT, and also marketing. There, you can find webinars and training events that
will help you make the most out of Copilot in your everyday work. Best of all, they're
completely free and they go on all the time. So, you'll likely find one that suits your
level, need, and also schedule. To watch more videos like this one, please consider
subscribing and I’ll see you in the next video.