Automatic document summarization with Copilot is now available in Word

In a recent post on the Microsoft 365 Insider Blog, Microsoft officially announced a very useful new feature for Word users, allowing for easier processing of long documents with the help of AI.

Users with eligible Copilot licenses will soon experience the ability to receive automatic summaries immediately after opening a document. Microsoft describes this new feature as follows:

We live in a world with so much content, we are constantly looking for more efficient ways to process information. Microsoft Copilot can help alleviate this 'overload' by providing an automatic summary at the top of your Word document.

Condensing the most important information into an easy-to-understand format, Copilot summaries allow you to quickly understand the main points and ideas without having to read the entire document.

The way Copilot's document summarization works is simple: Just open a Word document and watch Copilot create a summary at the top of the document. You can click the "View more" button to expand the summary and copy it, or open a new conversation with Copilot to discuss it. After you've made some edits, you'll be able to create a new summary to reflect your most recent changes. Word will also remember the last summary state and launch the document next time with a collapsed or expanded summary.

This feature is currently rolling out to select Microsoft Word users with a relevant Copilot license on Windows (version 16.0.17928.20114 or later), Mac (version 16.88, build 24081116 or later), and the web. The rollout is gradual, so please be patient if you haven't yet received the new experience.

Lesley Montoya

Update 04 September 2024