Copilot in OneDrive is a great tool for summarizing and comparing files, extracting key information, and generating FAQs—all of which you can do without opening a single file. In this guide, I’ll share several ways to make the most of this AI function at work, in school, or at home.
At the time of writing (May 2025), you can only access Copilot in OneDrive through the online version of Microsoft OneDrive. It’s not available through your file explorer or the OneDrive mobile app.
Summarize Files
If you want to know what a file contains but don’t have the time (or inclination!) to read it in full, you can get Copilot to summarize its content instead.
Let’s imagine you want to do some last-minute studying before you sit your English Literature exam. However, the PowerPoint presentation on the theme of the supernatural in Macbeth contains 14 slides, and there isn’t enough time for you to read it in full. Instead, make Copilot give you an overview.
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To do this, hover your cursor over the file in OneDrive online, click the “Copilot” icon, and select “Summarize.”
Copilot then analyzes the file’s content, before producing a condensed summary of the key information that will take far less time to read than the whole presentation.
Click “Copy” at the bottom of the summary window to duplicate the information elsewhere, like in a Microsoft Word document.
Copilot’s capabilities aren’t limited to Microsoft documents. In this example, there’s a general election coming up in the UK, and you want to quickly review what the Liberal Democrats propose to do should they win. After downloading the lengthy manifesto in PDF format from the party’s website and saving it to your OneDrive, hover over the file, click the “Copilot” icon, and choose “Summarize.”
This time, since it’s a longer document split into various sections, Copilot’s summary contains subheadings, giving you a snapshot of their pledges in the different areas that matter to the people.
Copilot in OneDrive works with many file types, including DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, FLUID, LOOP, PDF, TXT, RTF, ASPX, HTM, HTML, ODT, and ODP.
Ask Questions About Files
While the summary tool is useful for getting an overview of a file, you might want to extract more specific information.
Sticking with the election theme, this time, you’ve downloaded the Green Party’s manifesto in PDF format, and you want to find out what the party plans to implement for the self-employed. Hover your cursor over the file in OneDrive, click the “Copilot” icon, and choose “Ask A Question.”
Then, in the text field of the sidebar that appears, type your question, and click the “Send” arrow in the bottom-right corner. In this case, you might ask, “What are the Green Party’s plans for people who are self-employed?”
Now, Copilot scours the file to find all the information related to the keywords in your question, and produces a polished response in just a few seconds.
As well as asking a question, you can also input a command. For example, the command “Create a summary of the Green Party’s plans for people who are self-employed” produces the same or similar results as the question “What are the Green Party’s plans for people who are self-employed?”
Generate Standard and Custom FAQs
Copilot can produce two types of FAQs for a document in your OneDrive folder: standard FAQs and custom FAQs.
Standard FAQs
In this example, you’ve finished your academic thesis titled “Cross-Border Data Flows in AI-Driven International Trade in Services” in Microsoft Word, and the next stage is the thesis defense, which involves answering questions posed by a committee of experts and teachers.
To prepare for this, you can get Copilot to generate a set of FAQs. Hover your cursor over the file in your online OneDrive account, click the “Copilot” icon, and select “Create An FAQ.”
After analyzing the content of your thesis, Copilot produces a comprehensive series of questions and answers that can help you become defense-ready!
Custom FAQs
Alongside Copilot’s built-in FAQ tool, you can also use the AI tool to generate a set of more specific FAQs.
Imagine you’ve just installed a new printer in your office, and you want to pin a poster to the wall for your coworkers that explains how to photocopy and scan color documents. However, the instruction manual contains 141 pages, so finding and copying the relevant details manually will take too much time.
Instead, after downloading the manual in PDF format and saving it to your OneDrive, hover over the document, click the “Copilot” icon, and select “Ask A Question.”
Next, in the sidebar’s text field, type Create an FAQ that covers scanning and photocopying color documents, and click the “Send” arrow.
Copilot then produces a set of easy-to-follow questions and answers specifically related to your command.
Now, click “Copy” at the bottom of the Copilot response.
Finally, paste the response into a Word document, edit and format the content, and print your poster.
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Compare Similar or Dissimilar Files
As well as using Copilot in OneDrive to summarize, ask questions about, and create FAQs for individual files, you can use Microsoft’s AI tool to compare up to five different files without having to open them one by one.
In this example, let’s assume you want to compare the manifestos of two political parties, which you have downloaded in PDF format and saved to your OneDrive. First, select the files by activating their checkmarks. Then, click “Copilot” in the ribbon along the top of the OneDrive window, and select “Compare Files.”
After a few seconds, Copilot will produce a table with the file names as column headers and each row containing a succinct and direct comparison. Because the two files contain similar content and themes, the result delves into their details.
What’s more, you can compare files in different formats and with diverse content. For example, this result shows the similarities and differences between a lengthy PowerPoint file on the theme of the supernatural in Macbeth and a Word document containing a short essay paragraph on the theme of power in the same play.
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Improve File Content
A less obvious but equally useful capability of Copilot in OneDrive is its ability to suggest improvements to a file. The key here is to make sure your command is specific, including limiting the number of suggestions to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Imagine you have an Excel file containing nine tabs with various statistics relating to your favorite soccer team. However, you feel the workbook could be streamlined to make the data easier to analyze.
To do this, hover over the file’s name in OneDrive online, click the “Copilot” icon, and select “Ask A Question.”
Now, in the sidebar’s text field, type a specific command, like Suggest 3 ways to condense this workbook into fewer sheets, and press Enter.
Since you instructed Copilot to only make three suggestions, they’re manageable and easy to work through.
On the other hand, a less specific command—like “Suggest ways to improve this workbook”—returns a much lengthier response with wide-ranging and more complex suggestions.
Points to Note
Before you go ahead and use this powerful AI tool with your OneDrive files, here are some points to note:
- Copilot in OneDrive is only available through the online version of Microsoft OneDrive.
- You can use Copilot in OneDrive if you’re signed in to a work, school, personal, or family account associated with Microsoft 365. However, with a Microsoft 365 Family account, only the subscription holder can access the tool.
- Copilot only works with files in your OneDrive account that you have permission to access.
- You can only use this feature on text files. At the time of writing, Copilot in OneDrive doesn’t support images, videos, and other file types.
- While Copilot and other AI tools are useful for generating information quickly, you should always verify their accuracy. AI is best used alongside human intelligence, rather than replacing it entirely.
- Take some time to review Microsoft’s organization and personal privacy policies if you plan to use Copilot frequently.
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As well as Copilot’s ability to help you save time in OneDrive, it can help you improve your writing in Microsoft Word, organize your data in Microsoft Excel, and craft the perfect email in Microsoft Outlook.
