In a blog post, Microsoft gave users an early look at Copilot for OneDrive, which is scheduled to be released at the end of April. Copilot for OneDrive will act as a research assistant of sorts, able to find, summarize, and extract information from a variety of files. These include text documents (Word and Rich Text), presentations, spreadsheets, HTML pages, PDF files, and more. Users can ask Copilot to tailor the summary to their liking, such as including only the key points or highlights of a specific section.
Ever since Microsoft announced its third-generation cloud storage service last fall, we’ve known that OneDrive’s AI overhaul was coming. The company promises that AI will make document searches easier and faster, as well as intelligently summarize and organize documents. For example, users can ask Copilot to quickly find their tax documents or summarize a boring PowerPoint presentation from work.
The chatbot is also able to respond to natural language prompts and answer highly specific questions about the content of a user’s files. Some examples given by Microsoft include asking Copilot to list beverage sales for a week and put the data into a table view by day. Or, ask it to list the pros and cons of a project, or to display the latest or relevant documents. Users can even ask Copilot for suggestions on how to improve the documentation.
Copilot on OneDrive also has the ability to create outlines, tables, and lists for users based on existing files. A few examples given are:
• Create an outline for pitching to new customers using /sales-enablement.docx as a reference.
• For these selected resumes, create a table containing name, current position, years of experience, educational qualifications, and current location.
• Create a list of frequently asked questions about the Moonshot project.
OneDrive users will get early access to Copilot later this month, when Microsoft launches shared document summaries. Users can add an AI-generated summary of a Microsoft Word document before sharing, and recipients can read the summary in the email before they even open the document.
Copilot will be available on OneDrive for the web or through file viewers in Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. It will be available for work and school customers with Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses in late April.