Copilot Notebooks: How to Use Them (and When OneNote or Pages Fits Better)
The short answer: a Copilot Notebook is a project space where you add the files, pages and notes that matter, and Copilot answers only from those references. Not your whole OneDrive, not your email, not the web. Use it when you have a defined project and a pile of material. Use OneNote for everyday notes, and Copilot Pages to polish one AI answer into something you share.
And yes, it works without the paid licence. Copilot Chat users get it too, with a smaller reference limit.
What a Copilot Notebook actually does
Regular Copilot chat goes looking across everything you have access to. That's great for what's the latest from Sam. It's terrible when you want answers from exactly these 12 files and nothing else.
A notebook fixes that. Microsoft says Copilot doesn't access your entire OneDrive, email, Teams chats or the web inside a notebook, and only uses the references you've added. For project work, that's the whole point. Fewer surprises, fewer answers pulled from a 2023 draft you forgot existed.
Linked files also stay live. If someone updates a file on SharePoint, Copilot references the latest version.
How to create a Copilot Notebook
1Open Notebooks
Go to m365.cloud.microsoft and select Notebooks, then New notebook.
2Name it and add references
Supported file types include .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, .pdf, .loop, .page, .txt, .rtf and OneNote pages. Then select Create.
3Add whole folders carefully
If you add a SharePoint folder or site, Copilot picks up to 300 files it thinks are most relevant to your prompt. If one specific file must be in the answer, add it directly.
4Open it in OneNote too
The same notebook opens in the Copilot app and in OneNote, so you can move between them without losing context.
Give each notebook its own instructions
This is the setting I'd touch first. Each notebook can have its own standing rules.
In the Copilot app, select More options (...) in the upper-right corner, then Instructions. In OneNote, select the arrow next to the notebook name, then Copilot instructions. Microsoft's own example asks for Spanish, bullet points, the client's brand colours and the client's name in lower case. Here's a version for a typical client project:
Answer in British English. Start with the answer in 1 line, then the details. Always say which file each fact comes from. Write the client's name as acme, in lower case. If the files don't answer the question, say so.
Your general Copilot settings are a separate thing. For those, see Copilot custom instructions, with 12 examples.
Prompts that work well in a notebook
Microsoft's examples include What licensing options are mentioned in these documents? I like that one because it only makes sense inside a notebook. Here are mine:
Summarize the key decisions and open questions across all the meeting notes in this notebook, with the date of each.
Compare what the proposal promises with what the contract says. List every gap, with the file name and page.
Draft a 1-page project brief for a new team member, using only the files in this notebook.
Which of these documents contradict each other? Quote the 2 lines side by side.
Copilot Notebook vs OneNote vs Pages
Microsoft publishes comparison pages for both pairs. Stripped down to the decision:
1Copilot Notebooks
A defined project or problem, plus a collection of materials where an AI assistant adds value. Ask questions, get answers grounded in those files.
2OneNote notebooks
Day-to-day note-taking and long-term organisation. Also the better choice when you need drawing and screenshots, or when several people add notes together.
3Copilot Pages
Editable, shareable canvases built from a Copilot response. Pick Pages when you want to capture and refine one AI answer and share it.
My rule: many sources, one project, lots of questions? Notebook. One good answer you want to keep? Page. Everything else? OneNote, like before.
Questions about Copilot Notebooks
What are Copilot Notebooks?
AI workspaces where you bring together files, pages and notes for a project. Copilot answers only from the references you added, not from your whole OneDrive, email, Teams chats or the web.
Copilot Notebook vs OneNote: which should I use?
Use a Copilot Notebook for a defined project with a collection of materials you want to ask questions about. Use OneNote for everyday notes, drawing and screenshots, or when several people write notes together.
Copilot Pages vs Notebooks: what's the difference?
Pages are editable, shareable canvases made from a Copilot response. Notebooks gather many sources for one project so Copilot can answer questions grounded in them.
Do Copilot Notebooks need a paid licence?
No. Copilot Chat users can use them too, with up to 50 references. Paid Copilot users can add more than 300, and the first 300 are used. Either way, the account needs a SharePoint or OneDrive licence to create a notebook.
Can I share a Copilot Notebook as read-only?
Not currently. Everyone you invite gets editing access, and you can't add a group as a member.
Want your team working in notebooks, not in 40 open tabs?
I run live online Copilot workshops for groups of up to 20 people, from 1.5 to 4 hours. Notebooks, instructions and prompts, on real work.