Copilot in Outlook Guide (2026): Draft, Summarize, Prioritize Your Inbox, Triage Commands and How to Turn It Off

Copilot in Outlook can now do far more than write emails. Since September 2026 it can clean up your inbox from a plain-English command, and it can rank incoming mail by priority.

This guide shows every Copilot feature in Outlook, where to find it in new and classic Outlook, which licence you need, and 25 prompts you can copy. It also covers how to turn Copilot off if you don’t want it.

All Copilot Features in Outlook

The September triage commands work in classic and new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, Mac, iOS and Android, according to Microsoft’s release notes.

Which Licence You Need

Note: Business add-ons sit on top of an eligible Microsoft 365 plan. Prices vary by country. My Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint guide explains the plans in more detail.

Draft With Copilot

1. Start a new email or reply.
2. Click the Copilot icon in the compose toolbar and choose Draft with Copilot.
3. Describe the email. “Politely decline the meeting on Friday and suggest Tuesday afternoon.”
4. Pick tone and length. Choose options like Direct, Formal or Casual, and Short or Long.
5. Refine. Ask for changes (“make it warmer”, “add the invoice number”), then click Keep it and edit by hand.

Tip: When replying, Copilot reads the thread. Mention the exact facts you want included, because it won’t invent your numbers or dates correctly.

Coaching by Copilot

Coaching reviews an email you wrote yourself. It doesn’t rewrite it unless you ask.

• Tone: flags phrases that sound blunt or passive-aggressive.
• Reader sentiment: how the recipient might feel.
• Clarity: points out vague requests and missing details.

Open it from the Copilot icon > Coaching by Copilot once your draft is a few sentences long.

Summarize and Catch Up

• Summarize: open a long thread and click the Summary by Copilot bar at the top. You get key points and who said what, with references to the messages.
• Catch up: ask the Copilot pane “Catch me up on the Q4 budget thread” for a dormant conversation.
• Explain: select a confusing sentence and pick Explain from the floating menu.

Warning: Summaries can miss nuance, especially attachments and side conversations. Read the original before you act on anything important.

Prioritize My Inbox

Copilot can label incoming mail as high, normal or low priority. You can then sort or filter by it. The North Carolina Bar Association describes it as rolling out gradually.

1. Open Settings (gear icon) in new Outlook or Outlook on the web.
2. Go to Copilot > Prioritize and switch it on.
3. Click Customize and add instructions, for example “Emails from my manager and clients are high. Newsletters are low.”
4. Sort or filter your inbox by priority.

Note: It only ranks mail that arrives after you turn it on. It doesn’t re-rank old mail or messages that rules move straight into other folders.

Triage Commands: Clean Your Inbox by Asking

This is the biggest 2026 change. Since 23 September, you can tell Copilot to organise your mail in plain English.

• Delete: “Delete all unread newsletters from last week.”
• Move: “Move emails from Contoso about invoices to my Finance folder.”
• Copy and categorise: “Copy all travel bookings to Travel and tag them Blue.”
• Rules and folders: “Create a rule that moves emails from noreply@shop.com to Promotions.”

Tip: Start with “show me” before “delete”. Ask “Which emails would match unread newsletters from last week?” first, then confirm the action.

Scheduling and Calendar Help

• Schedule from an email: in a thread, use the Copilot option to schedule a meeting. It fills in attendees and a draft agenda from the conversation.
• Find meetings by topic: since September, Copilot can search meeting bodies, chats and transcripts from the past two months.
• Multiple accounts: a new account selector (4 November) lets you choose which Copilot account works in Calendar on the web.

25 Copilot Prompts for Outlook

Writing

1. Reply thanking them and confirm I’ll send the report by Thursday.
2. Write a polite follow-up to someone who hasn’t replied in a week.
3. Decline this invitation kindly and suggest a 15-minute call instead.
4. Turn these bullet points into a short project update for my team.
5. Rewrite this to sound friendlier but still firm about the deadline.
6. Write a two-line intro connecting Sam and Priya, mentioning their shared interest in data tools.
7. Draft an out-of-office reply for 18-25 November with my backup contact.

Reading and summarising

8. Summarize this thread in three bullets and list any action items for me.
9. What did the client ask for that we haven’t answered yet?
10. Catch me up on emails from my manager this week.
11. Which emails today need a reply from me?
12. Explain this paragraph in plain English.
13. What decisions were made in the budget thread?

Organising

14. Move all receipts from this month to my Expenses folder.
15. Delete promotional emails older than 30 days.
16. Categorise emails from the Acme project as Green.
17. Create a folder called Contracts and move emails with PDF contracts there.
18. Create a rule to send emails with “invoice” in the subject to Finance.
19. Flag every email from my top three clients for follow-up.
20. Show me unread emails from this week that mention a deadline.

Calendar

21. Schedule a 30-minute meeting with everyone on this thread next week.
22. Find the meeting where we discussed the new pricing.
23. What’s on my calendar tomorrow and what should I prepare?
24. Draft an agenda for my 2pm meeting from the related emails.
25. Which meetings this week could I skip or shorten?

How to Turn Off Copilot in Outlook

1. New Outlook or web: open Settings > Copilot and switch off the features you don’t want, including Prioritize.
2. Classic Outlook for Windows: go to File > Copilot settings (added 27 October 2026).
3. Mobile: open Outlook settings, tap your account and look for the Copilot toggle.
4. Work accounts: your admin controls Copilot availability. Ask IT if the option is missing.

To remove Copilot from the rest of Windows too, follow my turn off Copilot in Windows 11 guide.

Troubleshooting

I don’t see the Copilot icon

• Check your licence: work accounts need Copilot Business or Microsoft 365 Copilot for full features.
• Update Outlook and sign out and back in so the licence refreshes.
• Personal accounts: make sure you’re signed in with the Microsoft account that has the Microsoft 365 subscription.

Prioritize isn’t in my Settings

It’s still rolling out. Check new Outlook or Outlook on the web first, as classic Outlook often gets features later.

Copilot won’t move or delete emails

• Be specific: name the sender, folder and date range.
• Confirm: look for the confirmation card when more than five emails are involved.
• Shared mailboxes and some account types may not support triage actions yet.

The summary or draft is wrong

Give more context in the prompt, and check facts like dates and amounts by hand. Copilot works from what it can see in the thread and your mailbox.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Copilot in Outlook free?

Not fully. Work users need a Copilot Business or Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on for the full features. Home users get it with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium.

How do I use Copilot to clean my Outlook inbox?

Open the Copilot pane and type a command like ‘Move emails from Contoso about invoices to Finance’. Copilot asks for confirmation before acting on more than five emails or changing rules.

What is Prioritize my inbox in Outlook?

A Copilot feature that labels new mail high, normal or low priority. Turn it on in Settings > Copilot > Prioritize and add your own instructions.

Does Copilot work in classic Outlook?

Yes. Triage commands work in classic and new Outlook for Windows, and since October 2026 classic Outlook has its own File > Copilot settings page.

Can I turn off Copilot in Outlook?

Yes. Use Settings > Copilot in new Outlook and the web, or File > Copilot settings in classic Outlook. On work accounts your admin may control it.

Can Copilot summarize an email thread?

Yes. Open the thread and click Summary by Copilot at the top, or ask the Copilot pane to summarise it and list action items.

Does Copilot read all my emails?

It works with what you ask about and can search your mailbox to answer. For work accounts, Microsoft says data stays within your organisation’s Microsoft 365 boundary.

Final Thoughts

The writing tools in Outlook have been around a while. The real 2026 upgrade is triage: cleaning, filing and building rules just by asking. Pair it with Prioritize my inbox and you spend a lot less time sorting mail.

For the rest of Microsoft’s AI updates, read my Copilot November 2026 update. If you use Gmail instead, see my Gemini in Gmail guide.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes
• NCBA: The new Outlook gets smarter (27 Oct 2026)
• A Guide to Cloud: Microsoft 365 Copilot October 2026 updates
• Freakyjolly: Copilot plans and prices