File ingestion allows Copilot to directly read, analyze, and reason over files you upload, turning static documents into sources of insight. When you upload a file (such as a PDF, DOCX, CSV, XLSX, or TXT), Copilot temporarily ingests the contents, storing them in the active memory for that conversation. You can then ask questions, request summaries, extract data, or perform analysis directly against the file.
This is especially powerful for working with:
- Long or complex documents
- Spreadsheets and structured data
- Reports, contracts, or policies
- Research papers or transcripts
How to use file ingestion
- Press the “+” button in the “Message Copilot” box, and select “Add work content” to search for and reference files, emails, meetings, and other content you already have access to within Microsoft 365. This allows Copilot to use organizational content as context without uploading a new file from your device.
- You can also select the "+" button in the "Message Copilot" box, then select "Upload images and files" to upload documents directly from your device. After the file is attached, ask Copilot questions such as:
- Identify the key takeaways of this document
- Extract all the action items
- Analyze this spreadsheet for trends
- Compare this report to the information discussed earlier
- Finally, after pressing the “+” button, you can press "Attach cloud files" to open the OneDrive file picker and attach files stored in Microsoft 365. You can select:
- Filed shared through Teams meetings
This allows Copilot to analyze cloud-based documents without downloading them locally first.
Prompting Best Practices
Be DIRECT™
Use the DIRECT™ prompting methodology to clearly specify what you want Copilot to do with your uploaded content. The more specific your prompt, the more useful the response will be.
Working with multiple files
If you upload multiple resources, explicitly reference the file you want Copilot to use by placing the file name in quotation marks.
For example:
- Summarize the key recommendations from "AI Readiness Assessment.pdf".
- Compare the findings in "Q2 Survey Results.xlsx" with the recommendations in "Strategic Plan.docx".
This helps reduce ambiguity and ensures Copilot analyzes the intended file rather than another uploaded resource.
File ingestion allows you to provide Copilot with documents, spreadsheets, images, and other files as context for a conversation. By uploading files, attaching cloud-based resources, or referencing Microsoft 365 content, you can ask Copilot to summarize information, analyze data, extract insights, answer questions, and generate content based on those resources. Use clear DIRECT™ prompts and explicitly reference file names when working with multiple uploads to get the most accurate and relevant results.
