Use Copilot in Outlook with a screen reader

This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Microsoft Copilot makes managing emails easier. It helps summarize long email threads, see different viewpoints, and spot unanswered questions. With Copilot, you can quickly reply to emails or turn short notes into longer ones. You can also easily adjust your message's tone and length. This article guides on how to draft emails and summarize email threads through Copilot. You'll also learn to use the coaching by Copilot feature in Outlook.

Note: To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.

In this topic

Draft email with Copilot

Email coaching by Copilot

Summary by Copilot

Draft email with Copilot

Copilot in classic Outlook makes your email drafting easier. Follow these steps to start drafting an email with Copilot:

  1. Press Ctrl+N to open a new email.

  2. Navigate to the Copilot button in the ribbon to open the Draft with Copilot dialog. Use the steps below to navigate to the feature using keyboard shortcuts:

    1. Press Ctrl+F10 to see the ribbon shortcuts.

    2. Press the key corresponding to the Message tab.

    3. Press F+X to expand the Copilot dropdown list.

    4. Press D to open the Draft with Copilot dialog.

  3. Type the details you want your email to say in the edit box.

  4. Use Tab to go to the Generate button and then press Enter.

  5. Copilot will start generating a draft according to your input.

    • To cancel the generation process, press Shift+Tab and select the Stop button on the dialog.

    • If you want to make changes to the draft, type the details about what you'd like to change in the Anything you'd like to change edit box, like ‘make it short.' Then, press Tab to the right arrow button and then press Enter.

    • To regenerate the content, navigate to the Regenerate button and press Enter.

    • To adjust the tone and length of the draft, press Enter to expand the Copilotdropdown list. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate the list to find the preferred tone and length. Then, press Enter to set the desired options.

    • Copilot will generate multiple suggestions for the content. Navigate through the suggestions using the Next item and Previous item buttons.

  6. If you like the generated suggestions, add them to your email by selecting the Keep button.

    • To discard the draft, press Tab until you hear, the "Discard button" and press Enter.

Email coaching by Copilot

Coaching by Copilot feature in classic Outlook helps you improve the tone and clarity of the email. Learn how to use this feature in the following steps:

  1. Open a new email or an existing email draft.

  2. Go to the Message body of the new email using the Tab key and type your message.

  3. Navigate to the Copilot button in the ribbon to open the Coaching by Copilotdialog. Follow the steps below to navigate to the feature using keyboard shortcuts:

    1. Press Ctrl+F10 to see the ribbon shortcuts.

    2. Press the key corresponding to the Message tab.

    3. Press F+X to expand theCopilot dropdown list.

    4. Press C to open the Coaching by Copilotdialog.

  4. Copilot will generate suggestions on improving the tone, reader sentiment, and clarity of your email.

  5. Review the suggestions using your screen reader and use them to improve your email by incorporating the feedback into the draft.

    • If you want to explore more suggestions, Tab to the Regenerate button and press Enter to regenerate.

Summary by Copilot

The Summarize feature allows you to quickly understand the key points without reading every word. Follow these steps to summarize your emails with Copilot in Outlook:

  1. Select and open the email you want to summarize.

  2. Press Shift+Tab to navigate to the Summarize button located just below the email ribbon and press Enter.

  3. Copilot will start generating a summary for the email in the Summary by Copilot dialog.

    • To stop generating the summary, go to the Stop generating button using the Tab key and press Enter.

  4. Once the summary is generated, you can review it using your screen reader.

Notes: 

  • To provide feedback to Copilot generated summary, select the Thumbs up feedback or Thumbs down feedback icon.

  • If you want to report a problem, press Tab to get to the Contact support icon. Press Enter to open the Support pane. Describe your problem in detail and submit it.

See also

Welcome to Copilot in Outlook

Email coaching with Copilot with Outlook

Use Copilot in Outlook for Android and iOS with a screen reader

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.

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