Microsoft Copilot Can Easily Create Notes on Just About Anything. Here’s How

Navigating lengthy wikis, dense presentations, and complex documents can be overwhelming. Many encounter ‘too long, didn’t read’ (TL;DR) moments, wishing for a swift summary of extensive content. Fortunately, Microsoft Copilot, an in-browser artificial intelligence tool, offers a solution for generating concise notes and summaries directly within your browser.

Understanding Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot, introduced recently by Microsoft, utilizes OpenAI’s GPT technology – the same Large Language Model (LLM) powering ChatGPT. This AI-driven summarization tool is accessible at no cost, integrated into the Bing browser and search engine, both in desktop and application versions.

To assess Copilot’s summarization and note-taking efficiency, a practical test was conducted. Copilot was tasked with extracting key points from an extensive presentation. The chosen document, a lengthy 294-slide presentation from 2014 by Starboard Value regarding Darden Restaurants (then owner of Olive Garden and recently divested of Red Lobster), detailed operational shortcomings.

This exhaustive presentation, nearly 300 slides long, delved into issues such as shareholder discontent following the Red Lobster sale. Professionals were required to review this document, highlighting the need for efficient tools to process such extensive materials.

In 2014, AI-powered summarization tools like Copilot were unavailable. Now, this AI-enhanced browser feature can quickly analyze such documents, offering insights and potentially predicting outcomes, as seen with Red Lobster’s subsequent challenges.

Utilizing AI Summaries with Copilot

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Copilot for Summarization

1. Download and install the Microsoft Edge browser.
2. Launch Edge and navigate to the desired webpage for summarization.
3. Locate and click the Copilot icon, usually in the browser’s upper-right corner.
4. In the text field at the bottom right, specify your summarization focus for Copilot.
5. View your summarized results.

When prompted to extract key points about Red Lobster, Copilot efficiently generated accurate and concise notes in under a minute. These notes effectively summarized details related to the restaurant within the extensive presentation, including observations attributing declining shellfish sales to management issues.

Beyond general summaries, Copilot can extract specific details, such as mentions of company leadership, CEO quotations, and profiles of board members. This targeted information retrieval enhances its utility for in-depth document analysis.

Copilot’s ability to rapidly analyze extensive documents suggests its potential for various applications, from summarizing lengthy lectures and legal documents to even providing concise recaps of meetings, transforming time-consuming tasks into efficient workflows.