How to Use Copilot Cowork: The Complete Guide (2026)

Microsoft Copilot Cowork lets you hand a whole task to AI and get finished work back, not just an answer. If you are brand new to it, this step-by-step tutorial walks you through everything: what it is, how to switch it on, how to write prompts that actually work, every feature worth knowing, plus tips, limits, and what it costs. Bookmark it, because it links out to deeper guides for each topic.

What is Copilot Cowork?

Copilot Cowork is an agent in Microsoft 365. Instead of answering one prompt at a time like a chatbot, you describe an outcome and it plans the steps, does the work across your apps, and hands back finished files. Microsoft frames it as an "AI teammate" you can delegate to. It is grounded in your work through Work IQ, so it already understands your emails, files, meetings, and the people you work with. For a plain-English overview, see what Copilot Cowork is.

Copilot Cowork vs Copilot Chat

The most common point of confusion. Chat answers; Cowork does. Use Chat for a quick reply, use Cowork when you want finished work.

What you need before you start

• A Microsoft 365 Copilot license (the same one that powers Copilot in Word, Excel, and Teams).
• Your admin has turned Cowork on. It is off by default, so if you do not see it, that is usually why.
• Anthropic models enabled for your tenant (Cowork uses them as a subprocessor).

How to open Copilot Cowork

1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot in your browser at m365.cloud.microsoft, or in the Copilot desktop or mobile app.
2. Find the Cowork toggle next to Chat at the top and switch to it.
3. Type your task in plain language, or pick one of the suggested starter prompts.
4. Watch it work, approve any sensitive actions, and review the finished result.

Tutorial: your first task, step by step

The best way to learn Cowork is to give it a real task. Try something low-stakes like an inbox cleanup:

Cowork breaks that into steps, shows each one as it works, and pauses to ask before it sends or deletes anything. You can interrupt and steer it at any point ("actually, do not touch anything from my manager"), and when it finishes you review the summary. That loop, describe, watch, approve, review, is how every task works.

One expectation to set early: bigger tasks can take several minutes, sometimes 10 or more. That's normal, and it's the whole point of delegating. You don't have to sit and watch, fire off a task, switch to something else (you can even run several at once), and come back when it's done.

How to write prompts that get results

Cowork is only as good as your prompt. Five habits cover almost everything:

• Describe the outcome. Say what "done" looks like: a one-page summary, an Excel model, a sent email.
• Name the outputs and where to save them. For example, "save everything to OneDrive."
• Give it scope. Name the time range, people, and sources: "the last 30 days," "my direct reports."
• Let it run, then steer. It works in the background; you can redirect it mid-task.
• Ask to review first. Add "show me the drafts before sending" so nothing goes out without you.

Want ready-made examples? We keep a full, copy-paste set in the best Copilot Cowork prompts and a browsable tips library.

The features you should know

Skills

Skills are capabilities Cowork uses to do its work (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email, research, and more), loaded automatically as needed. You can also build your own, like a tone skill that learns how you write so drafts sound like you. See our complete skills guide for how to create custom skills.

Plugins

Plugins connect Cowork to outside systems and add expertise, from Dynamics 365 and Fabric to partners like Miro, monday.com, and Harvey. Browse them all on our Copilot Cowork plugins page.

Choice of model

Cowork is multi-model. Auto picks the best model for the job, or you can choose: Anthropic's Claude models are strong for visual work like PowerPoint, while GPT-5.5 is strong for deep research with citations. More on this in what's new at GA.

Scheduled tasks

Ask Cowork to do something on a schedule ("every Monday at 8am, summarize my week") and it runs on its own from then on.

Browser use and mobile

In preview, Cowork can use your Edge browser to act on websites that have no plugin. And because it runs in the cloud, you can start a task on your phone and pick it up on your desktop later.

Beginner tips and tricks

• Start small. Run a low-risk task first (inbox triage, a quick summary) to see how the approval flow feels.
• Fire off several at once. Cowork runs tasks in parallel, so you do not have to wait for one to finish.
• Reuse your best prompts. When one works well, save it, or turn the workflow into a skill.
• Let it research, then cut it off. Tell it "that's enough, build the report" when you have seen enough.
• Use Auto for the model unless you have a reason to pick one.
• Schedule the boring stuff. Daily briefings and weekly status reports are perfect recurring tasks.
• Talk it through instead of starting from a blank page. Record or jot your rough thinking on a topic, then ask Cowork to turn it into a polished document or deck. Letting it assemble your ideas is often faster than writing from scratch.

What Copilot Cowork can't do (yet)

• It works with your cloud files (OneDrive, SharePoint), not files on your local device.
• It can't delete OneDrive or SharePoint files.
• It can't read encrypted files, even ones you can open.
• Custom skills and third-party plugin outputs are not validated by Microsoft, so review them.
• Treat its output as a draft for anything high-stakes (legal, financial, medical).

What does Copilot Cowork cost?

Cowork is usage-based: on top of a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you pay per task in Copilot Credits (about $0.01 each), and it is off until an admin enables it and sets limits. The cost of a task depends on the model, how much data it pulls in, the tools it uses, and how long it runs. We break it all down, including how to estimate spend, in our Copilot Cowork pricing guide.

Copilot Cowork vs Claude Cowork

If you are choosing between the two, the short version is: Copilot Cowork works inside Microsoft 365 with usage-based pricing, while Claude Cowork works with local files on a flat subscription. We compare them in depth in Claude Cowork vs Copilot Cowork.

Where to go next

• Getting started guide, set it up and find it
• Best Copilot Cowork prompts, copy-paste examples
• Copilot Cowork tips, a browsable library of use cases
• Plugins, connect your other tools
• Pricing explained, what it really costs
• What is Work IQ?, the engine that grounds Cowork in your work

That is everything a beginner needs to go from never having opened Cowork to delegating real work with confidence. Start with one small task today, and build from there.