{"id":22318,"date":"2026-02-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=22318"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:45:30","slug":"a-day-in-the-life-of-a-microsoft-employee-using-copilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-microsoft-employee-using-copilot\/","title":{"rendered":"A day in the life of a Microsoft employee using Copilot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meet Opeoluwa Burnett, a lead product manager in Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s IT organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opeoluwa uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to turn her typically packed schedule into productive and rewarding workdays. Here are some of her favorite prompts and practical tips for getting the most out of the AI assistant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn from our experience<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking the right Copilot for the job: Tips from our experience at Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Start strong: Using Copilot Chat to start your day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat now opens automatically when Opeoluwa opens a new tab in her browser, and it also works in any Microsoft 365 app like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start her day, she tells Copilot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Using my Teams chats, calendar, and email, summarize my activities for today. Provide me the information in a table, organized by priority, with clear and concise information.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If she\u2019s been away for a while, she\u2019ll use a more specific prompt, like this one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve been on vacation. Summarize what I\u2019ve missed from the last 7 days into bullet points of actions where I\u2019ve been mentioned. Then, look through my email \u201cInbox\u201d folder, Teams chats, and meeting recaps and transcripts. Create a table that includes: action item, deadline, who assigned it. Order all items in the table by the suggested priority in which they should be completed.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDon’t forget to use the summarize feature to tackle those long threads. It makes it much, much easier to catch up with what everyone is talking about, and it helps make sure I don\u2019t miss something.\u201d <\/p>\nOpeoluwa Burnett, senior product manager, Microsoft Digital<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Inbox Zen: Using Copilot Chat to tidy your inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Opeoluwa needs to get organized, she uses Copilot Chat to help her. She\u2019ll write a prompt like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Give me a recap of the meeting series ‘Engineering team stand-up.'”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Provide a comprehensive summary of my emails about (the FY26 AI adoption strategy)<\/em>.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She suggests using the same technique for unpacking long, drawn-out conversations, the kind where it\u2019s hard to know what\u2019s up, what\u2019s down, and what her action items might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon’t forget to use the summarize feature to tackle those long threads,\u201d she says. \u201cIt makes it much, much easier to catch up with what everyone is talking about, and it helps make sure I don\u2019t miss something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on strategy: Using Copilot Chat to draft documents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s time to do deep thinking and get core work done, Opeoluwa asks Copilot Chat for help getting started with prompts like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Create a detailed product plan for a new feature<\/em>. It\u2019s a small, AI-powered desktop companion that helps workers manage distractions, track focus time, and suggest breaks.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she wants to start interacting with the text, she simply heads over to Word and opens up Copilot Chat to resume the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is also able to do similar things in the desktop version with Action Mode in Word. Once she has a document open, she selects the Tools icon to enable Agent Mode. From there, she can ask prompt Copilot in the same way and watch it draft her document right before her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lunch break: Use Copilot Search to see what’s happening near you <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If Opeoluwa visits the office, she can check in with chat to see what\u2019s happening around her. In addition to discovering what\u2019s for lunch at the caf\u00e9, she can explore fun things to do with prompts like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What’s happening on the Microsoft Commons campus today?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Are there any special events going on today?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while she\u2019s at it, she can use the Employee Self-Service Agent to not only find out what\u2019s on the menu at a caf\u00e9 where she\u2019s going, she can also use it to order lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs anyone serving a taco salad at The Commons today, and if so, help me order one to pick up at 12:50 p.m.?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teamwork: Creating an agent to keep everyone aligned and up to date<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When she needs to, Opeoluwa spins up an agent that she and her team can use to get their work done. For example, she might create an agent to automate processes that previously everyone had to slog through manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone can create an agent and share it, but remember that\u2014for now\u2014only the person who creates it can edit it,\u201d she says. \u201cKeep that policy in mind if you\u2019re going to want to make changes and have the agent grow with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of the day: Wrapping up with Copilot Chat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Opeoluwa uses Copilot Chat to help her tidy up her day, making sure she didn\u2019t miss anything important and that she\u2019s ready for what tomorrow will bring. To wrap up, she uses a prompt like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Using my Teams calendar, email, and recent chats, summarize my activities for today in a plain-text bulleted list.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore often than not, thanks to help from Copilot, I\u2019m in a good position to pause, reflect, and get ready for the next day,\u201d she says. \u201cCopilot has really helped me get organized, focus on the right things, and be more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key takeaways<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here is a quick summary of Opeoluwa\u2019s methods for getting more out of your day with Microsoft 365 Copilot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n