How to Use Copilot in OneNote: Summaries and Drafts

OneNote is where a lot of small business owners park their meeting notes, ideas and half-formed plans, and then never look at them again. Copilot is Microsoft's attempt to change that by letting you ask your notes for a summary or help you draft something new.

Here's how it works according to Microsoft's support pages, what you need before the button shows up, and a few sensible ways to use it. I've kept to what Microsoft documents, so where its pages go quiet I'll say so.

Opening Copilot in OneNote

Microsoft's support article uses summarising a page as its example. The route is short:

1. Go to the OneNote page you want Copilot to look at.
2. On the Home tab, select Copilot. A pane opens on the right side of OneNote.
3. Type your request into the Copilot compose box.
4. Select the Send arrow.

That's the whole routine. Menus can differ between versions of OneNote, so if you can't find the Home tab button, look at the version of the app you're using before assuming something is broken.

A Copilot in OneNote prompt that summarises a page

Microsoft's own example prompt is 'Create a summary of the deposition notes on this page'. Copilot then returns a bulleted summary in chronological order, based on the page's notes and transcription, and it cites its sources.

That citing habit is useful. It means you can click back to the part of your notes an answer came from, instead of taking the summary on trust. For a business owner, the same pattern works for a long page of client call notes: ask for a summary, then check the cited lines before you act on any detail.

What else Copilot in OneNote can help you draft

Microsoft Learn's overview lists the OneNote use for Microsoft 365 Copilot as drafting plans, ideas and lists. So beyond summaries, you can ask for a first pass at a project plan, a list of content ideas or a checklist, then edit it in your own words.

• A rough launch checklist for a new service.
• A list of questions to ask on a discovery call.
• A plan for next week built from scattered notes.
• A tidy list of ideas from a brain-dump page.

The quality of what you get back depends on the quality of what you ask. My page of AI prompt examples for real business jobs shows the difference a clear request makes.

Why Copilot in OneNote might not show up

This is the bit that trips people. Microsoft says that if you don't see Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote, it may not be included in your Microsoft 365 plan, or your organisation's settings may restrict it.

Microsoft Learn spells out the difference between the options. Copilot Chat (Basic) users don't have the add-on and don't have access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic) users have standard access, which Microsoft says is subject to service capacity and might vary throughout the day, while Premium users get priority access. Microsoft also notes that the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is now called Microsoft Copilot.

If the button is missing, check which Copilot option your account has, or ask whoever manages your Microsoft account. That's a quicker fix than reinstalling anything.

What Microsoft's OneNote pages don't tell you

The support article I read covers summarising and not much else. It doesn't describe usage limits, supported platforms or detailed data handling, and it points to separate Welcome and FAQ pages for those. I couldn't open those pages, so I won't guess. For privacy questions about notes that hold client details, read Microsoft's Copilot privacy documentation for your account type, and speak to your administrator.

Habits that make Copilot in OneNote more useful

• Give each page a clear title and one topic, so a summary has something coherent to work with.
• Ask for the format you want, such as bullet points, a checklist or a short paragraph.
• Ask one thing at a time, then follow up in the same pane.
• Read the cited lines before you copy anything into an email or a proposal.

None of this is complicated, and it takes a minute. The people who get the most from Copilot in OneNote tend to be the ones who already keep tidy notes, because the assistant can only work with what's on the page.

Copilot in OneNote versus a normal note-taking app

Copilot isn't a note-taking app, it's an assistant that sits inside OneNote. If you're still choosing where to keep your notes, my comparison of note-taking apps for work is worth a look first, because the best AI helper won't rescue a messy system.

Whatever you choose, keep sensitive client information to a minimum in any notes you ask an AI to process, and always read the result before you share it. Copilot can summarise your notes, but it can't know what you meant to write.

Frequently asked questions

How do I open Copilot in OneNote?

Go to the page you want, select Copilot on the Home tab and the pane opens on the right. Type your request and select the Send arrow.

What can Copilot in OneNote do?

Microsoft's support article shows it summarising a page into bullet points with sources, and Microsoft Learn lists drafting plans, ideas and lists.

Why can't I see Copilot in OneNote?

Microsoft says it may not be included in your Microsoft 365 plan or may be restricted by your organisation's settings.

Does Copilot in OneNote show where its answers come from?

Microsoft's summarising example says Copilot cites its sources, so you can check the answer against your notes.

Is Copilot in OneNote the same for everyone?

No. Microsoft Learn says experiences differ by licence, with standard access for some users and priority access for others.