03/04/2025
Microsoft Copilot Can Easily Create Notes on Just About Anything. Here's How
Microsoft's AI can help summarize long emails, PDFs, and more, providing a much-needed "too long, didn't read" solution.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Copilot, launched by Microsoft last year, is powered by OpenAI's GPT (the LLM behind ChatGPT). It is free to use on both desktop and mobile as part of Microsoft's Bing browser and search engine.
I tested Copilot’s summarizing ability by asking it to create short notes on an excessively long presentation about Olive Garden. In 2014, Starboard Value, an activist hedge fund, made a 294-slide presentation critiquing Darden Restaurants, which owned Olive Garden and had recently sold Red Lobster. The document detailed poor management decisions, including the infamous Shrimpfest debacle. Employees had to read and review all 294 slides. Imagine if Copilot had been available back then!
AI Summaries on Demand
Here’s how to use Copilot to summarize documents and web pages:
1. Download and install the Microsoft Edge browser.
2. Open Edge and navigate to the webpage or document you want summarized.
3. Click the Copilot icon in the upper-right corner of the browser.
4. Enter a prompt specifying what details you want Copilot to extract.
5. Receive a concise summary instantly!
I asked Copilot to highlight key points about Red Lobster, and in less than a minute, it produced accurate notes identifying mismanagement as a factor in declining sales. Copilot can also extract specific details such as executive quotes or board member lists.
If Copilot can handle a massive corporate presentation so efficiently, imagine what it can do with lengthy lectures, legal documents, or those never-ending Zoom meetings that should have been emails.
