Repurpose existing content with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Hi there, Insiders! Microsoft 365 Copilot isn’t just a useful tool for generating new ideas – it can also take content you already have across your favorite apps and repurpose it for different situations, purposes, or audiences.

Let’s say you’re working on your company’s employee handbook in Microsoft Word and want to quickly leverage it for other purposes. Below are some examples of how Copilot can translate internal data into a variety of formats.

Turn it into an email

Making staff review an entire handbook can easily overwhelm them – not to mention, leave much of the material unread. Instead, let Copilot summarize the key details in a concise email that you can blast to whomever you’d like or tailor to specific teams, while also encouraging them to open the file for more information.

Sample prompt

Can you write a short email based on this document for internal staff, also highlighting that the Code of Conduct is a new addition?

Copilot’s response

Make a presentation in PowerPoint

As you get ready to share an overview of your organization with new employees via a Microsoft Teams call, use Copilot to create a presentation that covers the main points of your handbook and makes it visually appealing and more digestible.

Sample prompt

Create a short presentation from [link to or attach file] that’s targeted at new hires.

Copilot’s response

Create a SharePoint announcement

Copilot can also generate an announcement post for SharePoint if you’re looking to spread crucial news or updates to the entire organization.

Sample prompt

Write a concise SharePoint announcement from the Contoso HR team explaining the main points of our employee handbook found here: [link to or attach file].

Copilot’s response

Write a LinkedIn post for external audiences

Copilot can take internal files and package them for external audiences while preserving confidential or sensitive information, and making them more accessible and interesting.

Sample prompt

Write a LinkedIn post specifically talking about the four bullets under “Code of Conduct.” The target audience is potential candidates and people interested in working for Contoso who want to understand our company values. Make it fun and friendly, with emojis.

Copilot’s response

Tips and tricks

As you draft your own prompts for repurposing content, keep these tips in mind to make Copilot’s responses as effective as possible:

• Be specific: Instead of saying, “Summarize this document into an email,” you could ask, “Could you summarize this document into a 2-3 sentence email for the engineering team that requires a response by end of week?”
• Provide context: Copilot can tailor its responses to the type of writing or style you want to emulate: “Write an X.com post based on this presentation that’s funny and uses a couple of emojis.”
• Ask clear questions: Instead of a broad question like, “Can you make an agenda from this email?” try, “Can you make an agenda from this email that covers who on the team is included, when we’re meeting, why this discussion matters, and key topics we’ll talk about?”
• Break down complex requests: If you have a multi-part question, break it into smaller parts: “First, turn this Excel table into a pie chart. Then, make the largest section red, the second-largest section blue, and the third-largest section yellow.”
• Specify desired format: If you need a list, summary, or detailed explanation, mention that: “Can you summarize this OneNote notebook in bullets?”
• Indicate your preferences: Let Copilot know if you have a preference for the type of information or tone: “Can you write a Threads post based on this document that’s targeting a Gen Z audience that’s likely not familiar with [company name]?”
• Provide examples: If you’re looking for creative ideas, give an example of what you like: “I need an image that illustrates the content of this presentation and can be used as the opening slide.”
• Ask follow-up questions: If Copilot’s initial response isn’t quite what you need, ask a follow-up question to narrow down the information: “Can you shorten this presentation to five slides?”
• Be patient and iterative: Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the perfect response. Feel free to refine your prompt based on the initial answers you receive.

 

Ready to get the most out of your ideas and content? You’ve got this!

 

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