How Executive Assistants Use Copilot: Inbox, Calendar, Meeting Prep
Bottom line: Microsoft doesn't publish a prompt set for executive assistants (I looked). So the prompts on this page are mine, built around an EA's actual day: the overnight inbox, the calendar, prep for tomorrow's meetings, and the follow-up after. Several of them need the paid Copilot licence (Microsoft 365 Copilot, now called Microsoft Copilot).
Before any prompt, one question decides what works: whose mailbox are you in?
First: whose mailbox are you working in?
If you work in your executive's mailbox through delegate or shared access, this matters. Microsoft's own pages disagree on whether Copilot works there, so here's the careful version: shared and delegate mailboxes are supported in new Outlook, on the web, on Mac and on mobile for licensed users since mid-2026. Not yet in classic Outlook. Group mailboxes, never.
2 practical consequences. If you manage your executive's inbox from classic Outlook, try the same prompt in new Outlook or on the web. And your Copilot conversation history is saved to your own primary account, not to your executive's.
Prompts for the overnight inbox
Type these in: Copilot Chat in Outlook, while you're in the right mailbox.
Summarise everything that came in for Maya since 18:00 yesterday. Split it into 3 lists: needs her decision, needs my action, FYI.
Which emails from the last 2 weeks ask for a meeting with Maya? List the sender, the topic and any dates they proposed.
Reply to Tom thanking him for the proposal and saying Maya will come back to him by Friday. 3 sentences, warm, no commitments.
Prompts for the calendar
Triage my meetings tomorrow and suggest where I might get time back.
Schedule a 45-minute Teams meeting with Tom and Dana next week about the budget review. Mornings only.
Scheduling by chat works with up to 2 other people, which is why the example stops at Tom and Dana. For a board meeting with 9 people you're still the scheduler (sorry).
The feature I'd set up first is Calendar Instructions: standing rules that auto-accept, auto-decline, follow meetings or remove cancelled ones. In new Outlook, go to Settings > Copilot > Calendar instructions > Create instructions. Microsoft's own examples:
Always accept meetings from my manager if my calendar is free
You'll also see demos of a calendar agent that reschedules conflicting 1:1s and rebooks rooms by itself. That's a Frontier preview for now.
Prompts for meeting prep
Open a meeting in the Outlook calendar (web, new Outlook, Mac or mobile) and Prepare for this meeting appears at the top. The summary only appears for 1:1s and for meetings that have related content to summarise. Your admin also needs Meeting Insights switched on.
Here's the part EAs should know: each person sees a different prep summary, based on their own access. Your executive's version may include files you can't open, and yours may miss them.
Help me plan for today's meetings and create a table with goals for each one.
Maya meets Contoso at 14:00 tomorrow. Using the last 3 email threads with them and any files they shared, write a 1-page briefing: who's attending, what they want, open issues, and 3 talking points for Maya.
If you write briefings every week, look at the Executive Briefing Agent template in Agent Builder. Microsoft describes it as helping executives and their support teams prepare for leadership meetings, with talking points, a briefing document and a post-meeting report. One catch: it answers one question at a time.
Prompts for after the meeting
List the decisions and action items from this meeting, with owner and due date, in a table. Then draft a follow-up email to all attendees from Maya.
Summarise Maya's meetings today with the agenda, the attendees and any prep material shared by email. Flag anything that still needs an answer from her.
The first needs a transcript of the meeting. Minutes get their own page: Copilot prompts for meeting notes and minutes. The second is a morning brief worth putting on a timer. Scheduled prompts need the paid licence and allow up to 10 per person. Here's how to set up scheduled prompts. For inbox triage beyond this page, see my Copilot prompts for Outlook.
What to check before it reaches your executive
1Names and dates
Microsoft's own advice: review, edit and verify anything Copilot creates. In a briefing, the wrong title or the wrong date is the error people remember.
2Sensitivity labels
A Copilot draft can raise an email's sensitivity label if the material behind it was labelled higher. Check the label before you send.
3Agentic features and the EU
Copilot acting on the inbox by itself (Allow actions) is a Frontier preview, and Microsoft says it is not currently available to users in the EU. Plan your routine around the manual prompts.
Questions executive assistants ask about Copilot
How do executive assistants use Copilot?
In my view, 4 jobs are worth it from day 1: summarising the inbox, scheduling and calendar rules, meeting prep briefings, and minutes and follow-up emails after meetings. Each job has its own place in Outlook or Teams.
Does Copilot work in my executive's mailbox?
For licensed users, shared and delegate mailboxes are supported in new Outlook, on the web, on Mac and on mobile since mid-2026. Not yet in classic Outlook, and never in group mailboxes.
Is there an official Copilot prompt list for executive assistants?
No. Microsoft doesn't publish one. The closest official resource is the Executive Briefing Agent template in Agent Builder. The prompts on this page are my own.
Can Copilot manage my executive's calendar automatically?
Partly. Calendar Instructions can auto-accept, auto-decline and tidy cancelled meetings. The agent that reschedules conflicts and rebooks rooms is a Frontier preview.
Which Copilot licence does an executive assistant need?
The paid Copilot licence for a lot of this page, including Schedule with Copilot, scheduled prompts and Copilot in Teams meetings. Free Copilot Chat in Outlook covers basic questions about your own inbox, calendar and, where your organisation has rolled it out, a shared or delegate mailbox too.
Supporting a leadership team?
2 options. A 90-minute live Copilot briefing for the executives themselves, or a hands-on online workshop for the assistants and office team (up to 20 people, 1.5 to 4 hours).