Copilot will act as a writing coach in Microsoft Word, per latest update

Microsoft brought Copilot to the 365 Suite, including Word, with the promise of summarization, editing, correction, and writing suggestions. Now, the Redmond-based tech giant seems to want to take things a bit further and will update the AI model to coach users in Word on how to write.

According to the latest entry in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Copilot in Word will act like a writing coach, suggesting and even telling you how to keep your tone, style, and other writing characteristics constant in a text.

The Copilot context menu will include an option for getting AI-generated coaching. Copilot will review the writing and offer suggestions for high-impact areas, such as logical structure, flow, and tone.

Copilot

The update will impact Copilot in Microsoft Word starting July 2024, but the coaching option will also be available to the entire 365 Suite.

This is not the first time Microsoft expressed a desire for such a task. In 2023, at the Microsoft Event in November, the Redmond-based tech giant said Copilot in Outlook would mimic the user’s style when composing emails.

However, the journey from mimicking to actually receiving writing lessons from AI is an entire road, and many people, including human writing coaches, might disagree with it.

Copywriters are specialized writers who focus on short content, such as social media posts, letters, emails, or creative content. With this update, Copilot in Word might replace their jobs, with users being able to quickly create creative posts for their businesses or emails.

But learning how to write a novel from Copilot? Well, that’s a sensitive subject. Sure, the AI might tell you something about structures, tones, styles, points of view, etc. It will also edit your writing and correct it.

I doubt it can tell you how to create your style and approach to topics, characters, actions, etc. So, while Copilot in Word coaching you on your writing is a good idea, take it with a pinch of salt. Appreciate its feedback, but remember, art needs emotions, which is something that Copilot doesn’t have, nor can it mimic.