Working with Copilot
1. Working with Copilot
Hi, and welcome to the course!2. About me
I'm Susanth Sutheesh. I've been in the IT industry for over 15 years, working with cloud technologies and AI. These days, I focus on Generative AI and agent-based solutions. I've seen firsthand how Copilot can transform the way we work, but only if we know how to talk to it.3. Overview
In this course, you'll learn how to turn Copilot into a true productivity partner.4. Overview
You'll start by mastering the GCSE framework for clear prompts, then apply it across Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.5. Overview
From there, you'll build and refine custom agents, connect multiple files, and create seamless, AI-powered workflows end to end.6. Why prompt engineering matters
Imagine you ask your colleague to "put together a quick presentation".7. Why prompt engineering matters
They come back with twenty slides full of charts, but you just need three slides with headlines for tomorrow's meeting. Where did this go wrong? Your request was too vague!8. Why prompt engineering matters
Copilot works the same way - if your prompt is vague, the result will be vague too. But if you're clear and specific, you'll get output that's much closer to what you need.9. The GCSE Framework
To get the most out of our Copilot prompts, we'll be using the GCSE framework:10. The GCSE Framework
Goal,11. The GCSE Framework
Context,12. The GCSE Framework
Source,13. The GCSE Framework
Expectation. Think of it as the ultimate briefing checklist for Copilot. Without structure, prompts can lead to inconsistent or unhelpful results. The GCSE framework gives you a repeatable system that works across all Microsoft 365 apps - so you know exactly how to guide Copilot for clear, reliable answers. Whether you're writing a status update in Word, summarizing data in Excel, or drafting slides in PowerPoint, how you prompt Copilot determines what you get back.14. The GCSE Framework
The Goal is what you want Copilot to do. Keep it specific and action-oriented. This keeps your request clear and focused, so Copilot knows exactly what outcome you're after. Context is the background information that helps Copilot understand the bigger picture. Adding context makes the response more relevant to your situation. Source tells Copilot where to find the information. For example: "Use the attached document", "Refer to the sales data in this Excel sheet", or "Pull details from last week's meeting notes in Outlook". Without a source, Copilot may rely on guesswork, and that's when you risk getting incomplete answers. Expectation sets the format, tone, and level of detail you want in the response. Setting expectations is what makes the output usable right away.15. Putting it all together
Let's look at a full example of the GCSE framework in action. The Goal here is clear: we want Copilot to "Summarize the key points from the Q2 sales strategy report". Notice how action-oriented that is.16. Putting it all together
Next, the Context gives background: "The report covers April to June 2024 and includes online ads, retail promotions, and social media campaigns". That tells Copilot what kind of content it's dealing with.17. Putting it all together
For the Source, we've pointed Copilot directly to the Word file that contains the sales strategy. That way, it isn't guessing.18. Putting it all together
Finally, the Expectation: we've asked Copilot to "Present the summary as four short bullet points in a professional tone". That sets the format and the voice. When you put all four parts together, the prompt is specific, structured, and far more likely to give you a useful result than a vague one.19. Let's practice!
Now, let's get hands-on practice with the GCSE framework right in Copilot.Create Your Free Account
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