AI email assistant for Outlook

An AI email assistant is a tool that helps people manage their inboxes. Also known as an AI email generator and email automation software, it can organize messages, suggest replies, prioritize important emails, draft emails, and even automate certain tasks, like scheduling meetings.

Businesses and individuals alike use the software to streamline communication, minimize inbox clutter, and spend less time on repetitive email tasks.

In Outlook, the AI email assistant is called Microsoft 365 Copilot. 

AI email assistants help make email and meeting management less time consuming by speeding up different tasks. Take a look at some of the main ways email automation software does this.

Instead of sorting through dozens of new emails yourself, have AI do the heavy lifting for you through:

 

• Smart sorting. Scan new emails and organize them into categories, such as work, personal, promotions, and travel, so you can find what you need fast.
• Custom folders. Automatically create folders for emails based on your habits.
• Email tagging. Label emails with tags like “Urgent” or “Follow-up” based on the content or sender, so it’s easier to prioritize tasks.
• Junk filtering. Filter out spam or low-priority messages, so you spend less time weeding out distractions.

For example, flag emails from certain people as high priority, such as your manager or your child’s teacher.

Take the hassle out of calendar management with AI that helps you automatically schedule, organize, and keep track of meetings and tasks. Here’s what it can do:

 

• Smart scheduling. Analyze your calendar and get suggestions for the best times for everyone to meet while avoiding conflicts and accounting for different time zones.
• Refresh your memory. Instead of manually looking through your calendar trying to find the upcoming meeting you know is scheduled sometime, ask the AI to find it for you.
• Reminders. Stay on track by receiving reminders for upcoming events and tasks before they slip through the cracks.

For example, set up a recurring monthly meeting with an AI email assistant—ask it to send the invites, pick a time that works for everyone, and suggest an agenda.

AI email assistants make writing and responding to emails easier. They can create first drafts for you and help keep your emails clear and professional. We all know email writing can feel cumbersome and even uncomfortable, so a little assistance goes a long way. Here’s how they work to streamline everyday communication:

 

• Automated responses. For common questions, like “Can we reschedule?,” AI suggests quick, logical replies that you can send with just one click.
• AI-generated drafts. Ask an AI email assistant to write an email for you based on the context of a conversation—whether it’s a simple follow-up or something more detailed—saving you the time of starting from scratch.
• Polished writing. AI accounts for grammar and flow to keep your emails sounding crisp. Go a step further and tell the AI the tone you’d like to use to convey the most fitting voice.

For example, let AI suggest thoughtful replies to thank-you messages and event invitations.

AI email assistants not only help you control your inbox but also work smarter. By handling repetitive tasks and improving how you manage and prioritize emails, you’ll have more time to focus on more important things. Here’s how they deliver value:

 

• Boosted productivity. Instead of spending hours organizing emails, responding to routine questions, and scheduling meetings, let AI handle these tasks automatically.
• Smarter prioritization. AI can highlight the emails that need your attention first, like urgent requests or important updates, so you don’t miss crucial information.
• Seamless email management: Whether it’s moving emails to the right folders or drafting messages, AI makes sure your inbox runs smoothly.

As AI continues to grow in popularity, so do concerns about AI security and data privacy. Fortunately, Microsoft has built robust privacy and security measures into Copilot.

Data control and privacy. Copilot only uses the information you provide to generate responses, and it doesn’t use your data to train its foundational AI models. This means that your email content, calendar details, and files stay private and aren’t repurposed to improve the AI.

Secure data handling. Copilot encrypts all data while it’s being sent and when it’s stored. As part of the security measures, people’s and organizations’ data are kept separately. Microsoft also follows global standards for data security, like the General Data Protection Regulation and guidelines from the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission for cloud privacy.

Transparency and oversight. Individuals and administrators decide how Copilot accesses and processes data. For example, apply sensitivity labels to restrict what Copilot can access, and view audit logs to track interactions with Copilot for transparency and compliance.

For more details on Copilot privacy for organizations, visit Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Or for more details on Copilot privacy for individuals, visit Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps for home: your data and privacy. 

Copilot in Outlook responds to natural-language prompts to help with emails, scheduling, and productivity. Here’s a list of some things you can ask Copilot to do.

• “Write an email thanking the team for their presentation.”
• “Get tips for writing an email request for a proposal.”
• “Draft a reply to this email, agreeing to the proposed timeline.”

• “Move all emails from [name] to the ‘Invoices’ folder.”
• “Find the last email from [name] about the budget report.”

• “Summarize this email thread into key points.”
• “What is the latest on [project name]?”

• “Schedule a 30-minute meeting with [name] next week and find the best available time.”
• “Set up a recurring monthly meeting for the project team.”
• “When is my next meeting with [name]?”

• “Show emails and Teams messages where I was @mentioned this week.”
• “Find the file [name] emailed me about last week on [topic].”

• “Set my Out of Office message for my trip planned [date range].”
• “Do I have any action items in my unread emails today?”

• “Rewrite this email to sound more professional.”
• “Simplify this email for a broader audience.”