10X Your Task Management with Microsoft Copilot

Summary

This video script showcases the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot for enhancing task management. It demonstrates how to extract action items from emails, chats, and meetings using Copilot, and integrates these tasks into to-do lists and tables for better organization. The script also illustrates creating a project plan and collaborating on it using Microsoft Loop, ensuring real-time updates for all team members.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Microsoft 365 Copilot is a tool that can help manage tasks by extracting action items from emails.
• 📧 Users can interact with Copilot through the Copilot pane in Outlook, where they can ask it to find tasks in unread emails.
• 📑 Copilot can summarize tasks from emails and provide citations to the original messages for context.
• 📝 Tasks identified by Copilot can be added to a to-do list or tracker for better organization.
• 📆 The flagged email feature in Outlook allows users to highlight important emails that contain tasks.
• 📈 Users can convert tasks into a table format for easier tracking and management.
• 💬 Copilot can also extract action items from conversations in Microsoft Teams.
• 🗓️ During meetings, Copilot can generate transcripts and help identify open action items discussed.
• 📈 Copilot can create project plans in Word and even format them into tables upon request.
• 🔄 Microsoft Loop allows for dynamic collaboration on project plans, with updates being reflected in real-time across all shared instances.
• 🔗 Loop components can be embedded in emails, ensuring that team members always have access to the most current task list.

Q & A

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot, and how does it help with task management?

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI tool integrated into Microsoft applications like Outlook, Teams, Word, and Loop. It helps users manage tasks by extracting action items from emails, chats, and meetings, providing summaries, organizing tasks in tables, and tracking them through apps like Microsoft To Do.

How can Copilot identify tasks from unread emails in Outlook?

By entering a prompt like 'Do I have any action items in my unread emails today?', Copilot scans unread emails for possible tasks, summarizes them, and links back to the original messages for context.

What steps are involved in converting flagged emails into actionable tasks in Microsoft To Do?

After flagging emails in Outlook, users can open Microsoft To Do, where flagged emails automatically appear as tasks. From there, users can configure options like setting due dates, adding categories, or attaching files to manage tasks efficiently.

How does Copilot assist in managing tasks in Microsoft Teams?

In Teams, Copilot can extract action items from chat conversations or meetings. Users can prompt Copilot to identify follow-ups or tasks, which are then summarized with links to the relevant chat or meeting transcript.

What features does Copilot provide during a meeting in Microsoft Teams?

Copilot, when activated during a meeting, records a transcript and can extract and summarize action items from the conversation. Users can reference specific parts of the transcript and review the tasks associated with different speakers.

How does Copilot create project plans in Microsoft Word?

In Microsoft Word, Copilot can generate project plans based on user prompts. For example, if a user asks for a plan to 'bake the world's largest chocolate chip cookie', Copilot creates a detailed list of steps, which can be further refined into a table format.

How can Microsoft Loop be used with Copilot to manage collaborative projects?

Microsoft Loop allows dynamic collaboration by sharing tables or project plans created by Copilot. Changes made to these components update in real-time for all collaborators, ensuring that everyone has the latest version without needing to exchange emails.

What makes Loop components in Outlook and Loop dynamic?

Loop components, such as project tables, automatically update across all platforms (e.g., Outlook, Loop) when changes are made. This ensures that everyone working on a project is always viewing the most recent updates, reducing the need for manual tracking.

How does Copilot simplify task tracking from meetings?

Copilot extracts tasks discussed during meetings by referencing the transcript. It organizes these tasks and associates them with specific points in the meeting, making it easier to review and follow up on tasks after the meeting has concluded.

Where can users find more training and examples on using Microsoft Copilot effectively?

Users can explore the 'Copilot Lab' by Microsoft, which offers guides on writing effective prompts and several examples. Additionally, Microsoft 365 provides free webinars and training courses tailored to different roles, helping users master Copilot in their daily tasks.

Outlines

00:00

📧 Task Management with Microsoft 365 Copilot

The paragraph introduces the concept of managing tasks using Microsoft 365 Copilot, a tool designed to streamline task management. The narrator demonstrates how to use Copilot within Outlook to extract action items from unread emails. By clicking on the Copilot icon, a pane opens with suggested prompts, and the user can type a custom prompt to identify tasks. The tool reads the emails and summarizes the required actions, providing citations to the original messages for context. The narrator also shows how to flag emails for later reference and how to transfer these tasks into Microsoft To Do for tracking. Additionally, the paragraph covers converting tasks into a table format for better organization and how to manage tasks within Microsoft Teams.

05:04

🗣️ Leveraging Copilot in Teams and Meetings

This section of the script delves into using Copilot to manage tasks within Microsoft Teams. It explains how to extract action items from team chats and channels by using the Copilot pane. The narrator then transitions to discussing meetings, showing how to use Copilot to capture action items during a meeting with the transcript feature enabled. The meeting's transcript is reviewed to ensure all tasks are captured, and the narrator demonstrates how to interact with Copilot post-meeting to ask questions and review the AI-generated transcript. The paragraph concludes with a look at how Copilot can assist in creating new project plans within Microsoft Word, including generating a table format of the plan.

10:07

🍪 Project Planning and Collaboration with Copilot

The final paragraph focuses on using Copilot for project planning and collaboration. The narrator starts by using Copilot in Word to generate a project plan for baking the world's largest chocolate chip cookie, which includes tasks, owners, and due dates. The plan is then refined into a table format. The paragraph continues with a demonstration of how to collaborate on this plan using Microsoft Loop, where the table can be copied and pasted into Loop for real-time updates and collaboration. The narrator shows how updates made in Loop are reflected across all shared instances of the table, including in emails, eliminating the need for constant email updates. The paragraph ends with a recommendation to explore Copilot Lab for prompt inspiration and to utilize Microsoft 365 Copilot training for mastering the tool.

Keywords

💡Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft 365 Copilot is a suite of AI-powered tools designed to enhance productivity within Microsoft's ecosystem. It is central to the video's theme, showcasing how it can streamline task management across various applications. For instance, it is used to extract action items from emails, suggesting it can parse content for tasks and present them in a digestible format.

💡Task Management

Task management refers to the process of organizing, tracking, and managing tasks to improve efficiency and productivity. The video emphasizes the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot for task management, demonstrating its utility in handling action items from emails, chats, and meetings, thus making it easier for users to stay on top of their responsibilities.

💡Outlook

Outlook is an email client and personal information manager by Microsoft. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a platform where users spend a significant amount of time and where action items are often hidden within emails. Copilot is shown to assist in extracting these tasks from the inbox, making email management more efficient.

💡Action Items

Action items are tasks that require attention or follow-up. The video script uses this term to describe tasks identified by Copilot from unread emails, emphasizing the tool's ability to recognize and prioritize tasks from a user's inbox.

💡Flagging

Flagging in the video refers to the act of marking important emails for follow-up. It is demonstrated as a feature within Outlook that, when used in conjunction with Copilot, allows users to easily track and manage tasks derived from emails.

💡Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do is a task management application that helps users create and manage to-do lists. The video shows how flagged emails from Outlook can be synced with Microsoft To Do, providing a comprehensive view of tasks across different applications.

💡Table

A table in the video is used as a method to organize and summarize tasks into a structured format. Copilot is shown to convert extracted tasks into a table, which includes details like the sender, action item, and deadline, streamlining the process of tracking tasks.

💡Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a platform for communication and collaboration. The video script illustrates how Copilot can be used within Teams to extract action items from conversations, highlighting its cross-application capabilities for task management.

💡Transcript

A transcript in this context refers to a written record of what was said during a meeting. The video demonstrates how Copilot can interact with meeting transcripts to identify and summarize action items, showcasing its utility in post-meeting follow-ups.

💡Project Plan

A project plan is a document that outlines the steps and resources needed to complete a project. The video uses an example of creating a project plan for baking the world's largest chocolate chip cookie, showing how Copilot can generate and organize project plans in a structured format.

💡Microsoft Loop

Microsoft Loop is a collaborative workspace that allows teams to work together on shared documents. The video highlights Loop's dynamic collaboration features, showing how a project plan generated by Copilot can be pasted into Loop for real-time updates and team collaboration.

Highlights

Microsoft 365 Copilot simplifies task management across various applications.

Outlook inbox integration allows for task extraction from emails using Copilot.

Copilot can summarize action items and provide citations to the original email context.

Flagging emails in Outlook syncs with Microsoft To Do for task tracking.

Microsoft Teams conversations can also yield action items through Copilot.

Meeting transcripts in Teams can be analyzed by Copilot to extract action items.

Copilot assists in generating project plans directly within Microsoft Word.

Tasks can be converted into tables for better organization in Word using Copilot.

Microsoft Loop enables real-time collaboration and updating of project plans.

Loop components can be pasted into emails, maintaining live updates for all recipients.

Copilot can handle complex prompts, such as planning to bake the world's largest chocolate chip cookie.

The AI-generated project plan includes sections, tasks, owners, and due dates.

Dynamic collaboration in Loop allows for adjusting and sharing project plans easily.

Updates made in Loop are reflected in real-time across all shared instances, including emails.

Microsoft Copilot offers a seamless experience for managing tasks in daily used apps.

Kevin Cookie Company finds Copilot invaluable for task management and project planning.

Microsoft provides Copilot lab and training for mastering the tool in various roles.

Transcripts

Managing tasks can sometimes feel like juggling  a thousand things at once, but with Microsoft  

Copilot, it's never been easier to stay on top  of it all. Today, in partnership with Microsoft,  

we'll look at how you can supercharge your task  management using Microsoft 365 Copilot. Let's  

dive in. Here I am in my Outlook inbox, and  we all spend so much time in email. In fact,  

over on the left-hand side, you can see  that I have three emails from today,  

and they're probably action items for me hidden  away in those emails. Let's see if we could use  

Copilot to extract some of those tasks or  follow-ups. In the top right-hand corner,  

let's click on the Copilot icon. This opens up the  Copilot pane, and up on top, I have some suggested  

prompts that I could use, but I actually have my  own in mind. So, let's go all the way down to the  

bottom where we have this text field, and this  is where I could type in my prompt. I'll type in,  

do I have any action items in my unread  emails today? Over on the left-hand side,  

here I have those three messages. They're all  unread, and they're from today. I've scoped it  

to today, but you could also say from this  week, or maybe last week, or maybe while I  

was away on vacation, if you even want to follow  up on those. Now that I've finished my prompt,  

in the bottom right-hand corner, let's send that  to Copilot to see what comes back. And what do  

you know? It looks like I have three tasks from  today in my inbox, one from Patti, one from Diego,  

and another one from Alex. One of the really  neat things is Copilot reads the message and  

it summarizes what the action is. So here I can  see a quick summary. It looks like Patti wants me  

to create a video teaser. And if I want to see the  original message or all of the context, of course,  

I could go over to my inbox and find that message,  or right over here, you'll see that it includes a  

citation. When I click on this citation, it opens  up the original message that Copilot based its  

response on. So here I could read the original  request from Patti. And over here from Diego,  

I can click on this citation and there  too, I can also see the original message. 

Of course, I can see all of my different action  items right here, and it's good to know what all  

of them are. But to make sure I actually complete  them, I probably want to add them to a to-do list  

or some type of tracker. Over on the left-hand  side, where I have all of my different emails,  

when I hover over, you'll notice that there's  a flag. Let me flag this message. When I click  

on this, this is now highlighted. One of the  really neat things over on the left-hand side,  

I can now click into the To Do app. Let's click  into that. This drops me into Microsoft To Do,  

and here I can keep track of all of my different  tasks. Right over here on the left-hand side  

navigation, there's a category for flagged email.  And when I click on this, here I can see all of  

my different flagged emails. And there's that one  email that I just flagged from Diego, request for  

website updates. If I click into that task over  on the right-hand side, here I could configure  

all sorts of different options related to this  task. For example, I could add a due date. Here I  

could pick a category. I could even add additional  files. Down at the bottom, I can also reference  

the source email. And if I'd like to read more  of the details, here I could click on open,  

and that too also opens up the original source  email. Here, I'll close out of this. I think I'd  

actually like to track all of these tasks from my  email today in a table, so let's see if we could  

do that. In the top right-hand corner, I'll click  on the Copilot icon again, and here I can see my  

previous interaction with Copilot. Down below  in the text field, let me try something else.  

Let's convert these tasks into a table. Here, I'll  click on send. It's now generated a table. And let  

me actually expand it so we could see it a little  bit better. Right up on top, I'll click on this  

icon. That expands the pane. And here it's made a  table that summarizes all of my action items. In  

the first column, I have the sender. So, there I  have my three different people, Patti, Diego, and  

Alex. Then I have the action item, as well as any  deadline that's mentioned in the message. So just  

like this, I could also use this table to track  all of my different follow-ups and action items.  

Next up, let's see how Copilot can help us manage  tasks directly in Microsoft Teams. Here I am now  

in Microsoft Teams, and conversations in Teams are  full of important action items. I'm currently in  

a chat, but you could also use this in a channel  that's part of a team. Here, I have a conversation  

with Diego and Patti, and I want to know what  are all of the different action items from this  

conversation? Just like we saw in email, in the  top right-hand corner, we have a Copilot icon.  

I’ll click on this, and that opens up the Copilot  pane over on the right-hand side. Here, I have a  

text field and I can now type in my prompt. I'll  type in extract all action items from this chat,  

and let's see what comes back. Right up above,  I can see that there are two follow-ups from  

this conversation. I'll have to make sure to get  that done. You can also use Copilot in Teams and  

channels, just like you can in a chat. Of course,  lots of different action items and follow-ups come  

up in meetings. So next, let's click into the  calendar and this opens up my calendar view, and  

it looks like I actually already have a meeting in  progress related to food safety and compliance, so  

let me join this meeting. I'm now in the meeting  with both Patti and Diego, and we've discussed a  

number of different topics. At the very beginning  of the meeting, we clicked on the Copilot icon  

and we had to turn on a transcript, and we've been  using that throughout the entire meeting. Because  

we had the transcript and Copilot turned on, over  on the right-hand side, I can now interact with  

and ask questions to Copilot. Now we're wrapping  up the meeting and I want to make sure that we've  

captured all of the action items from this  meeting. Down below in the text field,  

I'll type in my prompt, what open action items  are there? And let's send that. Above, I can now  

see a list of all the different tasks that came  up during this meeting. Here, I see that there's  

a task related to allergen labeling update, and it  gives me a summary of what that task is. But I can  

also reference the original transcript where  we talked about this action. Underneath this,  

and similar to what we saw in email, if you  hover over the citation, here I can see the  

actual portion of the transcript where we talked  about this task. It looks like I brought this item  

up. If I go down a little bit, here we talk about  a supplier check being needed. I'll hover over the  

citation. And here, Diego talks about it. And  if I go down a little bit more on number three,  

here Patti brought up the need for more staff  training. I now have everything that I need from  

this meeting. I think we've captured all the  different tasks. Up on top, I will now leave  

this meeting. Although the meeting is now over,  I can always go back to the AI transcript and I  

can continue asking questions about the meeting.  Here's that meeting on food safety and compliance.  

I'll click into this and right up above, I have  the option to click into a recap. When I do that,  

down below, here I could click on transcript and  I could review the AI generated transcript of this  

meeting. And it even breaks it out by speaker.  So that way I can review what Diego said and also  

what Patti said. Over on the right-hand side, here  I have the Copilot icon, and when I click on that,  

that opens up the Copilot pane. And here I can  see all previous interactions with Copilot and  

there are all those different action items. This  way we won't miss any of them. Up to this point,  

we've mainly looked at how you can extract tasks  from emails and Outlook and conversations in  

Microsoft Teams. But you can also use Copilot to  come up with entirely new actions and also project  

plans. I'm in a brand-new Microsoft Word document  and I'm on point to come up with a project plan.  

Right here in line, I have the Copilot icon.  I'll click on that and this opens up a text  

field where I can type in my prompt. I'll enter  in my prompt, give me a list of actions to bake  

the largest chocolate chip cookie in the world.  At the Kevin Cookie Company, we believe that will  

drive a significant amount of publicity. Now that  I've typed in my prompt, let's click on generate.  

This has now generated an entire project plan to  bake the world's largest chocolate chip cookie.  

It looks like we start with some planning and  preparation and we have to source the ingredients,  

the equipment, and there are a lot of different  steps involved. This will be a complex project,  

but it's not quite the format that I want it  in. I'd rather have it as a table. Down below,  

I have this field and I can make additional  refinements. So over here, I'll type in, turn  

this into a table with the section, task, owner,  and also due date. And let's send that. It's now  

generated a table with a high-level plan of how  we make this a reality. Here I see the section,  

each individual task. I also see the owner. I took  a best guess at what team is on point for making  

this happen. And here it's also estimated a due  date for when this task has to be completed. Now,  

of course, this is the best guess and not  everything will be 100% accurate, but it gives me  

a really good starting point. I'll probably have  to go in and I'll have to modify the owner as well  

as some of the due dates. But again, I'm off to  a great start. I want to collaborate with other  

teams on this project plan. And for some dynamic  collaboration, I think Microsoft Loop would work  

really well. Over here, I'll select this entire  table and then copy it by pressing Control C.  

Then I'll head over to Microsoft Loop. I'm now in  Microsoft Loop, and if you've never heard of Loop  

before, check out the video up above in the top  right-hand corner, and I've also included a link  

down below in the description. And then I'll  give you an overview of why and also when you  

might want to use Loop. On this page, here I'll  paste in the table that I copied from Word. And  

here I see that project plan to bake the world's  largest chocolate chip cookie. Within Loop, I can  

continue interfacing with the Copilot. In the top  right-hand corner, I'll click on the Copilot icon.  

This opens up the Copilot pane. And down below,  I'll type in a question. How many tasks does the  

baking team have? I want to make sure that we  don't overload them with too many tasks. Let's  

send that. Up above, I can see all of the tasks  that are currently assigned to the baking team,  

and it looks like they have five different steps  that they'll need to complete. There's quite a bit  

on their plate. I now want to share this project  plan with the broader team so we can all keep  

it up to date. And this is where the magic of  Loop comes in. Every time this table's updated,  

it'll stay up to date for everyone, irrespective  of where it's shared. To do that, up in the top  

left-hand corner, let's click on these dots and  then create a Loop component. It's now turned  

this into a Loop component, and if I scroll  up just a little bit, here I have the option  

to copy this component. Let's click on copy. And  here, I can see that it's now been copied. Let me  

now go to my email. I'm now in Microsoft Outlook,  and here, I'll paste in that Loop component. So,  

I'll press Ctrl-V and that pastes it in. And when  I say component, I'm really just pasting in that  

table from the Loop page. Here, I see my table.  Now you might be wondering, okay, so you paste  

it in the table. What's magical about that? Let's  go back into Microsoft Loop, and here, I see that  

same table. But for this first step, it says that  the research team is on point. At the Kevin Cookie  

Company, we're not that big of a company. We don't  have a research team. It's me. So, I'll type in  

my name. Now I updated this in the original  Loop page. Let's now go back to the email,  

and when we look at the table in the email, you'll  notice that it's also updated it to reflect that I  

am now the owner. Even if I send out the email, if  anyone comes in and makes updates to this table,  

everyone will automatically see that update. So,  we don't have to send emails back and forth every  

time someone comes in and makes an update to this  table. That way, we'll never have an outdated task  

list again. This is truly magical. With Microsoft  Copilot, managing tasks has never been easier  

across all the apps we use every day. For us here  at the Kevin Cookie Company, we've been loving  

Copilot. Almost as much as we love our chocolate  chip cookies. To get inspiration for prompts,  

be sure to check out the Copilot lab made by  Microsoft. You can click on the card right up  

above. You'll find guides to writing powerful  prompts, as well as several prompt examples.  

And for those of you looking to really master  Copilot, be sure to visit the Microsoft 365  

Copilot training. You can click on the card right  up above. These are training courses catered  

specifically to different roles and functions  like HR, finance, executives, operations, sales,  

IT, and marketing. There, you can find webinars  and other training events that will help make the  

most out of Copilot in your everyday work. Best  of all, they're completely free and they go on  

all the time. So, you'll likely find one that  suits your level, need, and also schedule. To  

watch more videos like this one, please consider  subscribing and I'll see you in the next video.