Phase 2 · Microsoft Copilot · Level 1 · Foundations
Guided walkthrough: summarise an email thread and draft a reply
By the end, you'll be able to…
- Follow one real Copilot task (summarise a thread, then draft a reply) start to finish
- Recognise which steps need the paid licence and which the free chat can do
- Check and tidy a Copilot draft before anything is sent
Why it matters
Reading about Copilot is one thing; following a real task from start to finish makes it click. This walkthrough talks you through one everyday job (summarising a busy email thread, then drafting a reply based on it) so you see exactly where you type, what Copilot gives back, and how you check and tidy it. It uses the Fernway email thread, so you can follow along whether or not you have the paid licence.
What we're going to do
One common, useful job, done end to end:
- Take a busy email thread and ask Copilot to summarise it.
- Use that summary to draft a reply.
- Check the result and tidy it before it goes anywhere.
We'll use the Fernway email thread, a real-feeling five-message exchange between Tom, Priya and Maya about an August scheduling clash, so you have concrete material to follow along with.
Which version this needs
There are two honest routes, and it's worth knowing yours before you start:
- With the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, you do this in Outlook: Copilot reads the thread in front of you (that's work grounding) and drafts the reply in place. No pasting.
- With the free chat, you do the same thinking by pasting the thread in yourself. It's a step more manual, but the skill (summarise, draft, check) is identical, and it costs nothing.
Follow whichever matches what you have. We'll flag where the two diverge.
Step 1: Open the thread and find Copilot
Paid licence, in Outlook: open the email thread. Look for the Copilot button, usually on the ribbon or near the top of the reading pane. Microsoft moves it between versions, so scan if it's not where you expect. If there's no Copilot button anywhere, your account doesn't have the licence; switch to the free route below.
Free chat: open copilot.microsoft.com (or the app, or the Windows/Edge panel) and start a new chat. Copy the text of the Fernway email thread ready to paste. In real life, strip out anything confidential first; the Fernway file is already safe practice material.
Step 2: Ask for a summary
Ask in plain words, and be specific about the shape you want.
Paid licence:
"Summarise this email thread in four bullet points: what the disagreement was, what was decided, and who's now doing what."
Free chat (same request, with the thread pasted):
Summarise the email thread below in four bullet points: what the disagreement was about, what was decided, who agreed to do what, and any date that matters. Here's the thread: [paste].
Why this works: It states the exact structure wanted (the disagreement, the decision, the owners) so Copilot returns something you can act on rather than a loose paragraph. Pasting the thread is how you 'ground' the free chat.
A good summary of the Fernway thread should capture that Tom wanted onboarding moved to protect the Harlow renewal, Priya pushed back because three new starters begin on 17 August, Maya proposed keeping onboarding the week of 18 August but shifting the sales-shadowing to Monday 25 August, and everyone agreed, with Maya to update and circulate the schedule.
Now check it against the thread. Did Copilot get the compromise right, or did it oversimplify to "onboarding was moved"? If it's off, say so: "You've got the compromise wrong: onboarding stays the week of the 18th; only the sales-shadowing moves to the 25th." Refining is normal and expected.
Step 3: Turn the summary into a reply
Now the useful part. Imagine you're Priya, replying to confirm and hand the action to Maya.
Paid licence: Copilot can draft the reply directly in the Outlook thread.
Free chat:
Based on that summary, draft a short reply from Priya confirming the compromise, thanking Maya, and asking Maya to update and send round the new schedule. Warm and brief, under 90 words.
Why this works: It builds on the summary already in the conversation, names the sender and recipient, and sets tone and length, so Copilot produces a real reply, not a fill-in-the-blanks template.
Copilot produces a draft. Treat it as a starting point, the way you'd treat a colleague's first attempt, not a finished message.
Good. Make it a touch warmer, cut the corporate phrasing, and add a line confirming the sales-shadowing lands on Monday 25 August so there's no doubt.
Why this works: Plain, specific feedback steers the existing draft closer while keeping what worked, which is faster and better than starting a fresh prompt.
Step 4: Check, tidy, then send yourself
This is the step people skip, and it's the most important one.
- Read every line. Does it say what you actually mean?
- Check the specifics (dates, names, the decision) against the real thread. Does it correctly say the 25th, not "the following week" vaguely? Copilot can misread or overstate.
- Adjust the tone if it's off: "A bit warmer, drop the last sentence."
- Add what only you know: context that was never in the thread.
When you're happy, send it yourself: copy it into your email, or in Outlook edit the drafted reply and send. Sending is always your decision, never Copilot's. Nothing leaves your hands until you press send.
Try it now
Common mistakes
- Sending the first draft unchecked. Copilot gives you a head start, not a finished message. Always read and tidy first.
- Not verifying dates and the decision. A busy thread with a compromise is exactly where Copilot oversimplifies. Check the specifics against the source.
- Expecting the in-Outlook version without a licence. Reading your own thread in place needs the paid licence. The free chat does the same job from pasted text, which is fine.
- Over-trusting a fluent summary because it sounds decisive. A confident "onboarding was moved to the following week" can be subtly wrong when the real answer was a partial compromise. Fluent isn't the same as accurate. Verify anything a reply or decision depends on.
Keeping current
The buttons and menus shift, but the loop (ground it, draft, check, send yourself) is durable. For the current in-app steps, Microsoft's Copilot help and learning and its Outlook Copilot pages are the places to look. Accurate as of 13 July 2026.