📫 Subscribe | 🗣️ Hire us to speak | 🤝 Sponsor this newsletter | 🎓 Events
Welcome to the Friday edition of our newsletter. We spend Fridays going deeper into tools and trends related to generative AI (and Tuesdays sharing news updates). This week, Professor Snider share some prompts to try in Microsoft Copilot.
Use these 12 Copilot prompts to take back your nights and weekends
Some of the best uses of AI tackle the small things that take up time in your day: finding an answer buried in an email, preparing for a meeting, or figuring out where a project stands.
Here are 12 prompts to try in Microsoft 365 Copilot (or another AI tool that has access to your calendar, email and docs). Copy, paste and replace anything in brackets with your own details. And be sure to sign up for our Sept. 16 virtual Microsoft Copilot workshop to learn more ways to get value from Copilot.
Before you start: Prompts that search across your work email, calendar, chats and files require Copilot access to that content. Availability depends on your license and organization’s settings. For document prompts, open or attach the relevant file. Microsoft explains the differences here.
1. Do a Friday check before signing off
Do you ever have that “Am I forgetting something?” feeling? Try this one today:
Review my work emails and Teams messages from this week, plus my calendar for next Monday. Identify anything that may need my attention before I leave today, including unanswered requests, approaching deadlines and issues blocking someone else. Separate the results into “Handle today” and “Can wait until Monday.” Explain why each item belongs there and link to the source. Flag uncertainty about whether something is still unresolved.
2. Get caught up on a project
Pick up where you left off without rereading every conversation. Your coworkers will think you’ve been laser focused on nothing but this project.
Catch me up on [project name] using the emails, Teams conversations and files you can access from the past [two weeks]. Summarize what changed, decisions made, current blockers and next steps. Highlight anything assigned to me, with deadlines when stated. Link to the sources and distinguish confirmed decisions from suggestions still being discussed.
Upcoming events
Sept. 16: Microsoft Copilot Virtual Workshop: Give us three hours and we will get you up to speed on how to get the most value out of Microsoft Copilot. This workshop runs 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 16. Sign up here.
FREE! Fall AI Lunch Club
Innovation Profs’ Fall 2026 AI Lunch Club will feature four free one-hour virtual events.
Sept. 30: Get More Value from Microsoft Copilot
Oct. 7: How to use AI as a Design Tool
Oct. 14: Skills, Plugins and Connectors
Oct. 21: AI’s Rapid Ascent: Do we Need to be Worried
These events are made possible through a sponsorship from Drake University’s Bucksbaum Lectureship in Business. Award-winning journalists Karen Hao and Nicholas Thompson will deliver this year’s AI-focused lecture, Decoding America’s Tech Moment, Oct. 21 at the Drake University Knapp Center (and live online). The event is free and open to the public.
3. Anticipate questions about your presentation
Find the gaps before your audience does for your next PowerPoint presentation.
Review this PowerPoint from the perspective of [audience]. What are the 10 questions they are most likely to ask afterward? Include questions about unclear points, missing evidence and practical next steps. Reference the relevant slides, suggest a brief answer supported by the deck and flag where I need more information.
4. Pull the key insights from a spreadsheet
The real value in data is interviewing it to tell the story. Start with this in Copilot in Excel.
Analyze the data in [sheet or table]. Give me the five most useful insights for [business goal], including trends, outliers and meaningful differences. For each insight, include supporting numbers and explain why it matters. Flag missing or inconsistent data that could affect the conclusions. Don’t assume causes the data cannot establish.
5. Prepare for a meeting
Ever see a meeting pop up on your calendar and have no idea what it is? Turn scattered background information into a quick briefing with this prompt.
Help me prepare for [meeting name] on [date]. Review the meeting invitation and related emails, files and available notes from previous meetings. Summarize the purpose, relevant background, unresolved questions and decisions we may need to make. Suggest three questions I should ask and anything I should review beforehand. Link to the supporting materials.
6. Figure out what matters today
Get a starting point before diving into your inbox. Bonus: schedule this prompt to run every day.
Review today’s calendar and my work emails from the past [three business days]. Give me a morning briefing with the three things most deserving of my attention, meetings that require preparation and requests or deadlines due today. Explain your priorities and link to the relevant emails or events. Suggest how I could use the open time on my calendar.
7. Find requests you may have missed
An inbox can hide a surprisingly long to-do list. Turn that into an actionable to do list fast.
Review my emails and Teams messages from the past [seven days]. Find direct questions or requests addressed to me where you cannot find a response or resolution. Create a table with the person, request, date, stated deadline and source link. Label each “Possibly needs follow-up” so I can verify its status.
8. Turn meeting notes into action items
You just had a meeting, but how do you turn what was said in the meeting into action? Make the next steps easier to follow.
Using these meeting notes or this transcript, create a follow-up summary with decisions, action items, owners, deadlines and open questions. If an owner or deadline was not stated, write “Not specified.” Separate proposed ideas from agreed actions. Then draft a short recap email for me to review.
9. Write a difficult email
Useful when you know what you need to say but are struggling with how to say it.
Draft an email to [person or role] explaining [situation]. My goal is [desired outcome]. Keep the tone professional, direct and respectful. Clearly state what I need from them and by when, using these details: [details]. Keep it under 150 words and don’t add promises or facts I haven’t provided.
10. Make a long document easier to understand
Get oriented before deciding where to read more closely.
Summarize this document for someone in my role as [role]. Explain its main purpose, the five most important takeaways and any actions or deadlines that apply to me. Define unfamiliar terms in plain language and point me to the sections that deserve a closer read. If it does not state an action or deadline, say so.
11. Give your plan a second look
Ask for useful criticism before putting the plan into motion.
Review this plan for [goal]. Identify the five biggest gaps, unsupported assumptions or dependencies that could prevent it from succeeding. Explain why each matters and suggest a practical improvement. Consider the constraints of [budget, timeline and staffing]. End with three questions I should answer before moving forward.
12. Draft your weekly update
Spend less time remembering what you did.
Using this week’s emails, Teams messages and project files related to [projects], draft a weekly update for my manager. Organize it into accomplishments, work in progress, blockers and priorities for next week. Focus on outcomes and keep it under 250 words. Don’t describe planned work as completed. Include source links for me to verify before sharing.
You don’t need to try all 12 at once. Pick one that matches a recurring frustration and use it this week.
And treat the results as a starting point. Check the sources, numbers and deadlines, especially before relying on a Friday summary to close your laptop.
