What are Copilot's forward-slash prompts?
If you have ever opened a Copilot chat window and stared at it not quite sure what to type, forward-slash prompts are the answer. Type “/” and a dropdown appears showing a full menu of action-oriented commands — each one triggers a specific type of output so you can skip straight to the task without writing a long prompt from scratch.
They are a built-in feature of Microsoft 365 Copilot (the paid enterprise version), available across Teams, Outlook, Word, and the Copilot chat interface. Think of them as keyboard shortcuts, but for thinking. According to Microsoft’s official Copilot documentation, slash prompts are designed to let users trigger structured AI actions directly from a simple “/” command — no complex prompting required.
A few things worth knowing before you dive in:
They are available with a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence — not included in standard Microsoft 365 plans
You can use them on their own or combine them with your own context and instructions
The “/” shortcut appears as a dropdown in any supported Copilot chat window
There are 31 in total — we have picked the 20 you will actually use
Research from McKinsey’s report on the economic potential of generative AI found that knowledge workers spend around 28% of their week managing email and another 14% communicating and collaborating. Slash prompts are designed to cut into exactly that time. Here is how.
Writing & communication prompts
These five were the ones we reached for most in everyday communication tasks. If you write emails, messages, or documents as part of your job, start here.
/draft ⭐
One of the most useful slash commands for anyone who hates blank pages. Give it a short brief — “draft a follow-up email to a client who hasn’t replied in two weeks” — and you get a structured, usable starting point instantly. Use it for emails, proposals, blog intros, Slack updates, and reports. Pair it with a tone instruction (“formal”, “friendly but direct”) and the output gets noticeably better.
/rewrite ⭐
Paste in a paragraph that isn’t quite landing and /rewrite tightens it up. It is particularly good at making something shorter or clearer without losing the core message. We used this on meeting summaries and client proposals most — anywhere the first draft was functional but not polished.
/reply ⭐
Highlight an email or message, type /reply, and Copilot drafts a contextually appropriate response. Add a direction (“politely decline”, “agree and suggest a time”) and it handles the rest. Saves the mental energy of switching from reading to writing mode.
/follow-up ⭐
/follow-up is specifically built for the “checking in” messages everyone puts off writing. Give it context from your previous interaction and it produces something that sounds human, not like a template. Works well after meetings, unanswered emails, or pending approvals.
/proofread ⭐
More thorough than a spellcheck — /proofread flags grammar inconsistencies, awkward phrasing, and style issues. Particularly useful on longer documents where you stop seeing your own mistakes. A quick run before anything goes to a client is now a habit for us.
/draft — generate a first draft of anything
/rewrite — improve clarity, tone, or conciseness of existing text
/reply — draft a response with context already loaded
/follow-up — write a follow-up after a meeting or unanswered email
/proofread — catch errors and style issues before you send
Research & understanding prompts
These five are ideal for getting on top of information quickly — whether you are prepping for a call, making a decision, or trying to understand something outside your usual area. If you want to compare AI tools for research and analysis, these kinds of structured prompts are exactly what separates a useful AI session from a frustrating one.
/summarise ⭐
The single most universally useful command on the entire list. Paste in a long document, email chain, meeting transcript, or web page and /summarise returns a clean bullet-point breakdown of the key points. We use this every single day — it is the first slash prompt we recommend to anyone just getting started with Copilot.
/explain
Type /explain followed by a term, concept, or passage and Copilot breaks it down in plain language with context and examples. Brilliant for onboarding new team members, understanding something in a contract, or getting your head around an unfamiliar technical topic without needing to Google it first.
/compare ⭐
Give /compare two options — tools, proposals, candidates, strategies — and it returns a structured side-by-side breakdown. Excellent for decision-making and saves the time of manually building a comparison table. Works best when you give it clear criteria to compare against.
/analyse
Paste in a dataset, spreadsheet excerpt, survey results, or any set of figures and /analyse surfaces the key trends and flags what deserves attention. Not a replacement for proper data analysis, but genuinely useful for a quick read of results before a meeting.
/pros-cons ⭐
One of the most practical slash prompts for fast decisions. Works on anything from vendor choices to project approaches to whether to take on a piece of work. Give it context and constraints and the output is a genuinely balanced list, not just filler.
/summarise — condense any document, thread, or page into key bullet points
/explain — plain-language breakdown of complex terms or concepts
/compare — structured side-by-side analysis of two or more options
/analyse — interpret data, trends, or results and surface insights
/pros-cons — rapid advantages and disadvantages for any decision
Meetings & planning prompts
These five tackle the parts of work that eat the most time: preparing for meetings, writing them up, and following through on what was agreed. Whether you are running meetings or just attending too many of them, these slash prompts will change how you handle them.
/meeting-agenda ⭐
Type /meeting-agenda with the meeting topic and attendee context and Copilot returns a clean, timed agenda. Add your own priorities and it adapts them into the right structure. One of the best prompts for anyone who has ever cobbled together an agenda five minutes before a call starts.
/action-items ⭐
After a meeting, paste in the notes or transcript and /action-items returns a formatted list of who is doing what by when. This was the single most time-saving command in our test. If your team uses Copilot in Teams meetings, /action-items turns a messy transcript into a proper task list in about 10 seconds.
/meeting-notes
Similar to /action-items but focused on the narrative — decisions made, context discussed, key conclusions reached. Use both together after a meeting for a complete record: /meeting-notes for the summary, /action-items for the to-do list. If you want to get more from your AI skills at work, learning to use these two together is a genuinely high-value habit to build.
/catch-me-up
Come back from leave, missed a thread, or picked up someone else’s project? /catch-me-up summarises what happened and what matters now. Works best when you paste in an email chain, chat thread, or document for context. It is not magic — it needs something to work with — but when you give it the right input it is very good.
/plan
Give /plan a goal and a timeframe and it returns a structured project plan with phases and next steps. Not a replacement for proper project management software, but a genuinely useful starting point when you are staring at a blank doc trying to figure out where to begin.
/meeting-agenda — structured agenda for any upcoming meeting
/action-items — extract tasks and owners from a meeting or transcript
/meeting-notes — structured narrative summary of decisions and discussions
/catch-me-up — get up to speed after missing a thread or time away
/plan — step-by-step project plan from a goal and timeframe
Data, visuals & organisation prompts
These five help you make sense of messy information, visualise data, and get your thinking straight. Less glamorous than the writing prompts, but quietly some of the most useful in practice — especially if you regularly handle data or need to structure complex information for others.
/chart ⭐
Give /chart a dataset or table and it suggests the best chart type for the data — or creates one directly if you are working in Excel or a compatible app. Good for quick data visualisation without spending 20 minutes deciding between a bar chart and a line graph. Works best with structured data that has clear categories and values.
/table ⭐
One of the most satisfying slash prompts to use. Give /table a list of items with mixed details and it organises them into clean rows and columns automatically. Particularly good for turning bullet-point lists, interview notes, or competitor information into something you can actually read and share.
/prioritise ⭐
Give /prioritise a list of tasks, projects, or ideas — add constraints like deadline, effort, or impact — and it returns a ranked order with brief reasoning. Useful at the start of a week when you have too many things on the list and need something to help you make a call.
/checklist ⭐
Turns any process, instructions, or rough task list into a formatted, tickable checklist. Great for turning a rough standard operating procedure into something a team can actually follow. We used this on onboarding processes and event runsheets — it saved a lot of reformatting time.
/brainstorm
The most open-ended command in the set. Give /brainstorm a starting point and a goal and it generates a varied list of ideas to react to. Good for getting past the first-idea block — even if you do not use any of the suggestions directly, they tend to unlock your own thinking. Combine it with ongoing AI learning and you will quickly find prompts that work reliably for your specific use cases.
/chart — suggest or create a chart from a dataset
/table — convert unstructured information into a clean table
/prioritise — rank tasks or ideas by importance with reasoning
/checklist — turn any process into a formatted, tickable checklist
/brainstorm — generate a list of ideas on any topic or goal
FAQs: Copilot forward-slash prompts
Do I need a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription to use slash prompts?
Yes. Forward-slash prompts are a feature of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which requires a paid Copilot licence on top of your standard Microsoft 365 plan. They are not available in the free or basic Microsoft 365 tiers.
Do forward-slash prompts work in all Microsoft 365 apps?
Most of them work across Teams, Outlook, and the Copilot chat interface. Some commands — like /chart — work best in apps like Excel or PowerPoint. It is worth testing in the app you use most.
Can I combine slash prompts with my own instructions?
Absolutely. You can type /draft and then add your own brief, context, or tone instructions. The slash prompt sets the action type — you still guide the output. Most commands get noticeably better when you add specifics.
Are there more slash prompts than the 20 listed here?
Yes — there are 31 in total. The full list includes commands like /translate, /format, /schedule, /poll, and /suggest. We have listed the 20 we found most useful in practice, with the full set available in our free downloadable guide.
What if I cannot see the slash prompt menu?
The forward slash should trigger a dropdown in any supported Copilot chat window. If it is not showing, check that your Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is active and that you are in a supported app. Some organisations restrict certain Copilot features at admin level.
Get the full guide
If any of these made you think “I didn’t know Copilot could do that” — that is the point. Most people with a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence are only using a fraction of what it can do, because nobody showed them the shortcuts. The full list of all 31 forward-slash prompts is available in our free downloadable guide, with team ivee’s most-used commands highlighted and example prompts for each one.
And if you want to go further — beyond Copilot and into the full range of AI tools available to you at work — the ivee Core AI Programme covers everything from ChatGPT and Copilot to building real AI habits that stick. No coding, no jargon, just practical skills you can use from day one.
Book onto one of our AI programmes at ivee and start learning today.
