Microsoft has announced a new AI Copilot feature for SharePoint and OneDrive users. Copilot for SharePoint and Copilot OneDrive leverage the power of large language models (LLMs) and the Microsoft Graph to help you create, edit, and share documents with ease.
SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot is part of Microsoft 365 Copilot, a suite of AI-powered productivity tools that work across the Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft 365 Copilot was introduced in March 2023 as a way to unleash creativity, unlock productivity, and uplevel skills by turning natural language into actions.
Using SharePoint and OneDrive with Language Commands
With the SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot, you can use natural language commands to create new documents, add content from other sources, summarize or rewrite sections, and collaborate with others. For example, you can say “create a new project proposal based on the data from this spreadsheet” and Copilot will generate a draft for you. You can also say “add a summary of the latest market research report to this document” and Copilot will bring in relevant information from your SharePoint or OneDrive files.
SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot also helps you share your documents with others by suggesting recipients, permissions, and messages based on your context and preferences. For example, you can say “share this document with my team” and Copilot will send an email or a chat message to your team members with a link to the document. You can also say “ask for feedback from John and Mary” and Copilot will create a task for them in Teams or Outlook.
Integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Business Chat
SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot is designed to work seamlessly with the other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Business Chat. You can use Copilot across these apps to create and edit documents, generate presentations, send emails or chat messages, schedule meetings, and more.
Microsoft says that SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot is powered by the same generative AI technology that drives GitHub Copilot, a code completion tool for developers that was launched in June 2022. GitHub Copilot has been shown to improve developer productivity, reduce errors, and enhance creativity by suggesting code snippets based on natural language descriptions.
Microsoft also says that SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot is built with security, privacy, and compliance in mind. It inherits the same policies and processes that apply to Microsoft 365 data, such as two-factor authentication, encryption, compliance boundaries, and privacy protections. Users can also review and modify the suggestions generated by Copilot before accepting them.
SharePoint and OneDrive Copilot is currently available in preview for select customers who have signed up for the Microsoft 365 Copilot program. Microsoft plans to roll out the feature to all SharePoint and OneDrive users later this year.
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