The fastest way to start Copilot is to use keyboard shortcuts. Press Win + C to open the overlay sidebar on the right side of the screen.
Toggle the "Show as overlay" button on the sidebar to have them side by side. Side-by-side mode does not overlap the active window, allowing you to work more freely.
To hide the overlay sidebar, press the Win + C shortcut key again.
notes
Copilot works better when you log into Windows with a Microsoft account.
02 out of 10
There's currently no way to activate the Copilot sidebar with your voice (unlike other voice assistants), but you can talk to Copilot because it's natural language AI.
Even if you continue to use any other application next to the chatbot sidebar, you can select the microphone icon and start a conversation. The co-pilot will respond with text and a natural voice.
notes
Microsoft says it doesn't store voice input; instead, it relies on the Online Speech Service to convert speech to text in the background.
03 out of 10
The co-pilot will ask some related questions below the first answer. These can serve as breadcrumbs for deeper research into a topic. Additionally, Copilot supports its answers with links that you can click to check the accuracy of its answers.
04 out of 10
You can manage some Windows 11 settings from Copilot. The number of commands is limited, although Microsoft may expand them and let you create different routines. Pair Windows Setup prompts with your voice and you'll have even more accessibility options.
For example, you can tell Copilot to launch an application such as Microsoft Word. Or open File Explorer. Copilot will ask you to confirm the operation via a dialog box.
hint
If you're familiar with Windows, it's faster to perform these tasks directly. But for others, it might be of some use. For example, if you tell Copilot about a specific Windows problem, it can open troubleshooting screens for you.
05 out of 10
The right conversational style can change how Copilot thinks about your prompts and the answers it gives. Choose from three: More Creative , More Balanced and More Precise . The chatbot defaults to "More Balanced" for all queries. Choose from the other two to force Copilot to choose a different algorithm.
Chatbot responses vary for each style, but you can choose any on the fly to see which answer best suits your needs.
For example, when you ask Copilot to draw a painting or write a song, try a more creative style. Don't stop there; try the other two styles, too.
06 out of 10
Copilot is part of Edge. So if you spend a lot of time on your browser, consider using an integrated AI chatbot.
Select the Open in Microsoft Edge icon on the sidebar to open the run prompt in Copilot in Edge in Windows. Alternatively, select the Copilot icon in the Edge or Bing search engines.
Microsoft Edge offers more unique features such as four Copilot GPT , Copilot Notebook , Insights , and Compose tabs. For example,
- Use Copilot Notebook to perform more complex queries and tasks, such as detailed emails or project proposals. Enter and edit your tips on the left until you get the perfect result in the right pane. Notebook supports text input of up to 18,000 characters.
- Compose is a custom AI text generator with built-in formatting, tone, and length options to help you draft emails, blog posts, and other content in the style of your choice.
- Insights is not AI-driven, but it can show you trending searches as a starting point for research.
Select Plugins in the upper right corner. You can select up to three at a time, such as Instacart for grocery shopping or Kayak for travel information ( search is enabled by default). Ask your questions and Copilot will use them to find what you need.
08 out of 10
When you just want to get the gist of a long article, let Copilot summarize it for you. Once you have the key points, you can also ask questions about the content.
- Open the article in Edge and start a new chat in the Copilot sidebar.
- Choose to summarize pages in Microsoft Edge . (Optional) Choose a conversation method.
- By default, the option to read content from active edge tabs is enabled in Settings . You can choose to turn off this feature from Settings > Allow Copilot to read contextual clues from Microsoft Edge to protect your privacy.
notes
Summary support for public sites, PDFs, Outlook Web App, and intranet sites on SharePoint.
09 out of 10
Copilot in Edge and Windows can analyze uploaded images and screenshots. Both Windows Sidebar and Edge use built-in screenshot tools. Once you select a portion of the screen and confirm it, it will appear in the co-pilot chat box for you to ask follow-up questions.
10 out of 10
With the right prompts, co-pilot chat can be very powerful. But it also provides four GPTs (Generative Pretrained Transformers) in Microsoft Edge, which are custom tools for specific tasks.
You can save time using designers , vacation planners , cooking assistants , and fitness coaches because they are designed with tips related to these tasks.
