How to Enable & Use Microsoft Copilot in Word

Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps like Word or PowerPoint is currently available for businesses with a dedicated plan that is $30 per month.

Before proceeding with any steps for enabling Copilot in Word, ensure you have an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and a Copilot license. Go to File > Account and check the Word version, and ensure it is 16.0.16325.2000 or higher and verify if you have a stable internet connection.

How do I enable and use Copilot in Word?

1. Using the Word settings

1. Press the Windows key, type word, and click Open.
2. Go to File.
3. Select Options to open Outlook Options.
4. Click Proofing from the left pane and look for the Autocorrect options section, then click the Autocorrect options button.
5. Switch to the Smart Lookup tab, and place a checkmark next to the Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with content creation option.
6. Click OK to save the changes.
7. On the Word document, click Review from the ribbon and select the Copilot option to open the chat sidebar or simply start writing, and it will give you suggestions accordingly.

2. Using the Registry Editor

1. Press Windows +R to open the Run window.
2. Type regedit and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
3. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.
4. First, let us take a backup, go to File, then click Export. Save the .reg file to an accessible location.
5. Navigate to this path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentConfigs\ExternalFeatureOverrides\word
6. Right-click word, select New, then choose the String Value option.
7. Right-click the String Value, select Rename, and name it Microsoft.Office.Word.CoPilotExperiment, then hit Enter.
8. Double-click it, set the Value data to true, and click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Launch Microsoft Word, open a new or existing document, click Review from the ribbon, locate the Copilot option, then click it to launch or start typing to get tips.

You can also use Microsoft Copilot in Outlook to draft emails and business proposals with ease and the CoPilot extension in Chrome for seamless searching and task automation.

This December, Microsoft will make Copilot to OneDrive available for all customers who have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

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Features of Microsoft Copilot in Word

Working with entire documents

Microsoft Copilot can help you create a complete document within a few minutes, and all you need to do is give it a correct prompt.

Start with opening a blank document, go to the Review tab, and click Copilot. In the Draft with Copilot box, type or paste your prompt with proper context, and click Generate.

Writing skills and natural language support

With advanced natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, Microsoft Copilot is an advanced assistant that can help you refine your writing skills.

It can shorten or rewrite sections, provide grammar & punctuation suggestions, and help maintain a consistent tone. Also, it offers tips for better sentence structure, thereby helping improve overall readability.

Intelligent suggestions for content creation

One of the main functions of Copilot is to provide suggestions and corrections when you type; this can get work done faster while being efficient.

All you need to do is enable the feature, then start typing in your document, and Copilot will analyze the text and give you tips to smooth out inconsistencies.

AI-powered chatbox to focus on productivity

You can access the AI-powered chatbox within a document and use it to summarize a document or write something in the context of the content, like CTA.

It can also add some context or content to your document from your existing documents or search for it on the web to give you relevant results.

Helps in research and collaboration

Microsoft 365 Copilot can also assist you in researching the topic or the document you are on. All you need to do is click Copilot from the Review tab and click the Research option.

You will get a variety of research tools with an in-built search engine and a dictionary. If you have shared a Word document online, Copilot can help track changes and insert comments for better collaboration.

Models with business data for business users

Copilot combines the strength of large language models with business data & Microsoft 365 apps to create a new knowledge model for every organization by leveraging the massive reservoir of data which are inaccessible.

Business Chat works across all your business data & Office apps to extract the information and insights you need from the data and knowledge inside your organization, thereby saving valuable time and getting you answers fast.

In conclusion, Copilot is a powerful tool and has a variety of features & capabilities; it helps you elevate your writing skills and productivity. Moreover, you can even transcribe and translate audio files with Copilot.

If it becomes overbearing in certain situations like when you’re browsing, you can disable the Copilot rewrite feature in Edge.

Speaking of innovation and AI assistant, you can also try using GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio; here is the guide explaining how to get it.

To learn more about Word, don’t miss our latest guide to see how to properly make a copy of a Word document. You can also draw comparisons between Word and Google Docs to find which one works best for you.

Would you want to use Copilot in your Word document to perform repetitive tasks and enhance your writing proficiency? Feel free to mention your thoughts in the comments section below.