“I’ve drafted an important email to my team about project changes, but I’m worried the tone sounds too harsh and the message isn’t clear enough. Can Microsoft Copilot help me improve this email with better phrasing and professional language while keeping my original intent intact?”
Improve emails with Copilot solution and workflow overview
Email communication remains one of the most essential aspects of business, yet many professionals find it challenging to craft messages that balance tone, clarity, and professionalism. Microsoft Copilot in Outlook improves this process by providing intelligent rewriting suggestions, tone adjustments, and clarity enhancements that help you communicate more effectively and confidently.
Today we will demo how to use Copilot’s email rewriting capabilities within Microsoft 365 to turn draft messages into polished, professional correspondence. You will learn how to refine tone, improve readability, and ensure your emails align with their intended business objectives. Before you go on with the tutorial, ensure you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription with Copilot licensing and access to Copilot in Outlook (desktop or web).
Create an email with Copilot step-by-step
Draft an email with Copilot using compose features
- Open Microsoft Outlook and click the “New Email” button to start composing your message, ensuring you have Copilot enabled in your Microsoft 365 tenant settings.
- Begin typing your email content in the message body, including recipient information, subject line, and your initial draft text that needs improvement or refinement.
- Look for the Copilot icon that appears in the formatting toolbar above your email composition area, typically displayed as a small sparkle or AI assistant symbol.
- Click the Copilot icon to reveal the available AI-powered writing assistance options, including “Rewrite with Copilot,” “Improve tone,” and “Make it more concise” features.
- Select “Rewrite with Copilot” from the dropdown menu to access the comprehensive email improvement interface that will analyze your current draft content.
- Choose your desired tone from the available options such as “Professional,” “Friendly,” “Direct,” or “Formal” depending on your audience and communication objectives for this specific email.
Correct my mail Copilot with advanced editing options
- Review the Copilot-generated suggestions that appear in a side panel or overlay, showing multiple rewritten versions of your original email content with different approaches and styles.
- Compare the original text with Copilot’s suggestions by scrolling through the different versions, paying attention to changes in sentence structure, vocabulary choices, and overall message flow.
- Click “Replace” on your preferred version to substitute your original text, or select “Insert below” to add the improved version while keeping your original draft for comparison.
- Use the “Adjust tone” feature if the initial rewrite doesn’t match your intended communication style, allowing you to fine-tune the formality level and emotional undertone of your message.
- Apply the “Make it shorter” or “Make it longer” options when you need to adjust the email length to meet specific communication requirements or recipient preferences.
- Utilize the “Add more details” prompt when Copilot suggests your email needs additional context or supporting information to improve clarity and completeness.
Expert Tip: Always review Copilot’s suggestions carefully before sending, as AI-generated content should align with your company’s communication standards and your personal professional voice.
Rewrite with Copilot in Outlook using specific prompts
- Access the custom prompt feature by typing specific instructions in the Copilot text box, such as “Make this email more diplomatic” or “Add a call to action at the end.”
- Experiment with detailed prompts like “Rewrite this email to sound more confident while maintaining a collaborative tone” to achieve precise communication objectives that match your leadership style.
- Use contextual prompts such as “Make this suitable for senior executives” or “Simplify this for non-technical team members” to tailor your message for specific audience segments.
- Apply formatting improvements by requesting “Add bullet points for the key action items” or “Structure this with clear headings” to enhance readability and message organization.
- Request specific business communication elements by prompting “Add a professional closing” or “Include a timeline for next steps” to ensure your email contains all necessary components.
- Save frequently used prompts as templates by bookmarking effective Copilot instructions that consistently produce desired results for your regular email communication patterns.
Compose email with Copilot using templates and automation
- Access Copilot’s email template suggestions by clicking “Start with Copilot” when creating a new email, which provides pre-built structures for common business scenarios like project updates or meeting requests.
- Customize template content by providing specific details about your situation, allowing Copilot to generate personalized content that maintains professional standards while addressing your unique circumstances.
- Integrate calendar information by allowing Copilot to reference your schedule when composing meeting-related emails, automatically including relevant dates, times, and attendee information for improved accuracy.
- Leverage contact insights by permitting Copilot to access recipient information from your organization directory, enabling more personalized greetings and context-appropriate communication styles.
- Use the “Draft with Copilot” feature for complex emails by providing bullet points of key information you want to include, then letting AI structure these points into coherent, professional prose.
- Enable automatic proofreading by activating Copilot’s grammar and style checking features, which identify potential errors and suggest improvements before you send your email to recipients.
Important Tip: Always perform a final review of Copilot-enhanced emails to ensure accuracy, appropriateness, and alignment with your personal communication style before sending to recipients.