Summarize a long agency thread into decisions and open items with Copilot in Outlook

What This Does

After a week of proof rounds, an agency thread can run to forty replies. Summary by Copilot reads the conversation and gives you the key points at the top of the thread, with numbered citations back to the emails. You use it to build a short list of what was decided and what is still open, then you confirm each item in the emails themselves.

Before You Start

• You use Outlook with Copilot. Microsoft's page covers Outlook for Microsoft 365, new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, Outlook for Mac (latest version only) and the mobile apps.
• You can see Summary by Copilot (or a button labeled Summarize) at the top of a long thread. If not, it may not be in your license or may be off in your organization. Ask IT, and see Microsoft's pricing pages for license details.
• You know whether your company allows AI on agency email. Agency rates, estimates and unreleased promotion plans are often confidential. Check your AI policy, and ask IT how Outlook Copilot handles mail data.

Steps

1. Open the thread

In Outlook, select the conversation. Microsoft's page says to choose the conversation. Then look at the top of the thread.

2. Select Summary by Copilot

Select Summary by Copilot, or Summarize if that is what the button says. On Outlook for Mac, select Summarize in the Summary by Copilot box. On iOS and Android, select the Copilot icon in the toolbar. Microsoft's page says Copilot scans the thread for key points, and the summary appears at the top of the email. It may include numbered citations that take you to the matching email.

3. Turn the summary into two lists

Read the summary and write down two lists in your own notes: what was decided, and what is open with the name of the person who owes the next step. A summary of a messy thread may blur the difference between "the agency suggested" and "we approved".

4. Click every citation

Before you rely on a date, a quantity or an approval, select its numbered citation and read the email it points to. Look at who wrote it and whether it was a question, a proposal or a confirmation. If a point has no citation, find it in the thread yourself or leave it off the list.

5. Use the attachments feature separately

Microsoft's page says that in new Outlook and Outlook on the web, you can select Summarize a file on PDF, PowerPoint or Word attachments. That summary is a separate step, so check an estimate or schedule against the file itself before you act on it.

Real Example

Scenario: An invented thread between you and Agency B about the SPRING-A shelf talker, with many replies about copy changes and a delayed proof.

What you get: A summary listing a revised headline, a proof due date and a question about the legal line. You click citation 3 and find that the date was proposed by the agency and never confirmed. It goes on your open list, not your decided list. You then reply to the thread asking Agency B to confirm.

Tips

• Do the summary again after new replies arrive, because the earlier one does not include them.
• Send your decided and open lists to the thread as a recap so that everyone reads the same version.
• Never forward the Copilot summary as the record. Your recap, checked against the emails, is the record.

Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar Copilot or Summarize options at the top of the thread.