How to Use Copilot in SharePoint | New Features, Tips & Tricks

Introduction

Microsoft SharePoint is widely used to store documents, manage information, create lists, and build team sites. With Copilot in SharePoint, you can use AI and simple natural-language prompts to create content, find information, summarize documents, and work with SharePoint data faster.

In this article, we will look at the main Copilot features with simple examples.

What is Copilot in SharePoint?

Copilot in SharePoint is an AI assistant that helps you work with SharePoint content using normal language.

Instead of doing everything manually, you can ask Copilot things like:

"Summarize this document."

"Create a project management page."

"Compare these vendor proposals."

"Find all documents related to invoice approval."

1. Create a SharePoint Site with Copilot

You can describe the site you want and let Copilot create a starting structure.

Example Prompt

Create a Project Management SharePoint site.

Include:
- Project Overview
- Project Tasks
- Project Documents
- Project Status
- Project Team

Copilot can create a proposed site structure that you can review.

Benefit

You don't need to create every component manually from the beginning.

2. Create SharePoint Pages

Copilot can help create pages for announcements, projects, processes, and other business information.

Example

Create an Employee Onboarding page.

Include:
- Welcome message
- Onboarding checklist
- Required documents
- IT setup
- Important policies

Copilot can generate the initial page content and structure.

3. Create SharePoint Lists

You can describe the information you want to manage.

Example

Create a Vendor Management list with:

Vendor Name
Vendor ID
Contact Person
Email
Category
Contract Start Date
Contract End Date
Status
Rating

This can give you a starting point for your SharePoint list.

4. Summarize Documents

One of the simplest uses of Copilot is document summarization.

For example:

Summarize this document and provide the five most important points.

This is useful when you have large:

PDF files

Word documents
Project documents
Policies
RFP documents
Vendor proposals

5. Ask Questions About Documents

You can ask questions instead of reading the entire document.

Example

What is the submission deadline?

What are the main requirements?

What are the payment terms?

What are the important risks?

Copilot can use the available SharePoint content to help answer these questions.

6. Compare Vendor Proposals

This is especially useful for procurement and RFP processes.

For example:

Compare Vendor A and Vendor B.

Compare:
- Price
- Delivery
- Warranty
- Technical compliance
- Overall score

Copilot can help create a structured comparison.

7. Create a SharePoint Agent

A SharePoint Agent can work as an AI assistant for specific SharePoint content.

For example, you could create an HR Policy Agent using documents such as:

Employee Handbook
Leave Policy
Travel Policy
Benefits Guide

Then users can ask:

What is the leave policy?

What documents are required for onboarding?

What is the travel reimbursement process?

This can make company information easier to access.

8. Use Copilot with Excel Data

You can also store structured information in Excel and use it as a source for analysis.

For example, create an Excel file containing:

Document Name	Department	Status	Score
RFP-2026-001.pdf	Procurement	Open
RFP-2026-002.pdf	Procurement	Under Review
Vendor-A-Proposal.xlsx	Procurement	Submitted	86
Vendor-B-Proposal.xlsx	Procurement	Submitted	92
Project-Status.docx	IT	Active

You can then ask questions such as:

Which vendor has the highest score?

or:

Show me all Procurement documents.

or:

Create a summary of documents that are under review.

9. Create Reports

Copilot can help turn SharePoint information into useful summaries and reports.

Example Prompt

Create a project management report.

Include:
- Total projects
- Completed projects
- Projects in progress
- Delayed projects
- Major risks

This can save time when preparing management reports.

10. Improve Existing Content

Copilot can also improve your existing SharePoint content.

For example:

Rewrite this content in a professional tone.

or:

Make this announcement shorter and easier to understand.

This is useful for:

Announcements
News pages
Policies
Project updates
Internal documentation

Useful Copilot Prompts

Here are some simple prompts you can try:

Document

Summarize this document.

Search

Find documents related to Invoice Approval.

Comparison

Compare these two vendor proposals.

Analysis

Identify the key risks in this proposal.

Page

Create a project status page.

Report

Create a summary report from this data.

Agent

Create an agent that answers questions about these documents.

Tips for Better Results

1. Be specific

Instead of:

Create a report.

Use:

Create a project report showing status, risks, completed tasks, and upcoming activities.

2. Tell Copilot what you need

Mention whether you want:

Summary
Table
Report
Page
Comparison
Presentation

3. Give clear instructions

For example:

Compare the proposals based on price, delivery, warranty,
and technical compliance. Show the result in a table.

4. Review AI-generated content

Always review important AI-generated information before using it for business decisions.

SharePoint + Copilot + Power Platform

Copilot becomes even more useful when combined with Power Platform.

A typical solution can look like:

SharePoint
    ↓
Documents / Lists
    ↓
Copilot / AI
    ↓
Power Automate
    ↓
Power Apps
    ↓
Business Process

For example, an RFP application could use:

RFP Document
      ↓
SharePoint Library
      ↓
AI Extraction
      ↓
RFP Criteria
      ↓
Vendor Proposal
      ↓
AI Evaluation
      ↓
Proposal Score
      ↓
Recommended Vendor

This approach can reduce manual document review and improve the overall process.

Conclusion

Copilot in SharePoint makes SharePoint easier to use by allowing users to work with content using natural language.

The most useful capabilities include:

Creating SharePoint sites
Creating pages
Creating lists
Summarizing documents
Asking questions
Comparing documents
Creating reports
Creating SharePoint Agents
Working with business information using AI

The key is to use clear and specific prompts. Start with simple tasks such as document summaries and gradually move toward more advanced solutions using SharePoint, Copilot, Power Automate, and Power Apps.