The buzzword of the year is certainly AI and Microsoft has heavily invested in it. Copilot is Microsoft’s AI Solution and its integration with the Office 365 suite of products makes it a good choice for your organization. Copilot, like most AI systems, is all about prompts, and telling your Copilot what you want it to do. So to get the most out of Copilot, you need to be good at telling it what to do. Whether you’re working on a report, creating content, or just experimenting, a well-written prompt can make all the difference. Here’s how to write some good ones:
Be Clear and Specific: When you’re writing a prompt, think about clarity and specificity. Instead of saying, “Write about summer,” be more specific like, “Write about your favorite summer memory at the beach and describe the activities you enjoyed.” This helps Copilot understand exactly what you’re looking for.
Provide Context: Context is king! Giving Copilot some background information helps it generate more relevant and accurate responses. For example, if you want a summary of a document, let Copilot know what the document is about. “Summarize the key points of the attached marketing strategy document for Q3.”
Use Open-Ended Prompts: Sometimes, the best way to get creative responses is to keep the prompts open-ended. For example, “What are some innovative ways to reduce plastic waste in everyday life?” This encourages Copilot to explore various angles and provide a richer response.
Experiment with Tone: Copilot can match different tones based on your prompt. If you want a casual, professional, or other type of tone in the resulting text, it won’t know unless you tell it. “Write a casual and friendly email inviting colleagues to a team-building event.” Or if you need something more formal, specify that: “Draft a formal letter of recommendation for a colleague.”
Let’s see this in action with a poor prompt vs. a good prompt:
- Poor Prompt: “Write a story about a cat.” Result: “Once upon a time, there was a cat. It liked to chase mice and sleep all day. The end.”
- Good Prompt: “Write a short, funny story about a cat that accidentally orders pizza online.” Result: “Whiskers the cat had always been curious about that strange glowing box his human used. One evening, while playing with the keyboard, he accidentally ordered a large pepperoni pizza. The delivery guy’s confusion was only surpassed by Whiskers’ delight when the pizza arrived. But how to explain this to his human?”
A clear scenario and detailed prompt will lead to a much better reply. Play around, experiment, and see what amazing content you can create. You can even have it plan out your entire Summer Vacation for you.
Microsoft has a great prompt gallery that shows you how you can use properly-written prompts to get the most out of Copilot.
Haven’t started using Copilot in your organization? Would you like to? Reach out to Weston today to learn more about Copilot and pricing for your organization.