Lesson 4 · Beginner · 15 min
Your first useful conversation: summarise, rephrase, translate
Summarise, rephrase, translate a text you provide: the three safe tasks in Copilot Chat, with the follow-up that improves the answer without starting over.
- Goal
- You will be able to have a text you provide summarised, rephrased or translated, then follow up in Copilot Chat with a precise instruction instead of starting over.
- Skills
- Steer
Your first attempt, unaided
Take a message you hesitate to send, or write one for the exercise. Paste it into Copilot Chat with a single instruction: soften this message. Note what the answer gained, and above all what it lost.
Summarising, rephrasing and translating are the three safest tasks to start with: the material is in the text you paste, the model has nothing to invent. Give the goal, the format and the tone, paste the text last, then follow up with a precise instruction. The first answer is a draft; the conversation keeps the context, no need to start over.
1Three tasks where the model invents almost nothing
These three tasks have one thing in common: they transform a text you provide. The model goes looking for nothing; it reorganises, condenses or transposes what is in front of it. The risk of invention is low, but not zero: a summary can smooth over a nuance, a rephrasing can lose a figure, a translation can alter a technical term. So you always proofread the output against the original text.
The conversation works as a loop: prompt, answer, reading, follow-up. Microsoft recommends continuing the exchange rather than starting over: "make it shorter", "use a more formal tone", "present it as a table". Each turn keeps the context of the previous turns, so you have nothing to paste again. Running those follow-ups is the subject of a whole lesson at Intermediate level, Iterate. Remember one thing here: a first answer is corrected, not redone.
Three interface settings serve these tasks. The model selector, at the top right, offers Auto by default; Quick response is enough for a rephrasing or a short translation. The list of previous conversations lets you pick up a piece of work the next day. When you change topic, Microsoft advises opening a new conversation, so that the instructions of one task do not contaminate the next. On language: according to the documentation in force in September 2026, French is among the supported languages, so you can write in French and add "answer in French" if needed.
Task What to specify Example instruction Summarise The recipient, the numbered length, what a good bullet contains "Five bullets for my manager, one decision per bullet, 80 words" Rephrase What must stay identical, the tone by observable criteria "Keep the three figures, formal address, sentences of 20 words at most" Translate The target language and its variant, the audience, the terms to keep "British English, professional register, keep product names" 
Diagram "Three safe first uses"Diagram generated by AI and reviewed 2A training refusal rephrased without going soft
A manager has to turn down a colleague's training budget request. Her draft says the essential, but it is dry and slightly hurtful.
Weak prompt.
Make this email friendlier.followed by the pasted draft. Copilot returns a very pleasant message, in which the refusal dissolves into polite formulas and the date of the next budget round has vanished. The colleague will understand the opposite of what is written.
Strong prompt.
Rephrase the message below, addressed to a colleague whose training request I am turning down. Keep exactly these three details: the refusal, its budget reason and the date of the next budget round. Tone: courteous and direct, a single closing formula, formal address, sentences of 20 words at most. Length: 120 words at most. Message:followed by the pasted draft. The answer comes in at 115 words. The refusal is clear from the first sentence, the three details are there, and nothing has been added.
What changes.
- The tone is described by observable criteria, not by an adjective.
- What must stay identical is listed: the refusal does not dissolve into polite formulas.
- The length is stated as a figure, so proofreading takes ten seconds.
3Summarise then translate a 400-word text
Pick a text of 300 to 500 words with nothing confidential in it: a public article, or a note you write for the exercise. Here is the starting prompt, to be improved:
"Summarise this text."
Add the goal with its recipient, the format with a numbered length, and the tone. Paste the text last. Run it, read, then follow up by enabling the "Offer two variants" booster: Copilot produces two numbered versions and says what sets them apart. Finish with a translation: ask for a French version of the chosen variant (or any language you can check), naming the audience and the terms to keep. The composer below guides you field by field.
Self-assessment grid: (a) goal, format and tone are named; (b) the follow-up says what to change and what to keep; (c) the output respects the length and contains no fact absent from the text.
4The summary that invents a decision never taken
A meeting report sets out two opposing positions on the choice of a contractor; no decision was taken. The prompt "summarise the decisions of this meeting" produces a summary that presents a single "decision". What you should have seen: the instruction pushes the model to smooth things over, because a summary without a decision looks like a bad summary. Correction: "Summarise in three sections: Decisions taken, with the person who decided; Points of disagreement, with each side's position and arguments; Open questions. If no decision was taken on a topic, say so explicitly." Rule to remember: ask for the structure that makes disagreement visible.
5Quiz
Three questions, instant feedback. Each option comes with an explanation.
6Proof of mastery
Paste the starting text (anonymised), your summary or rephrasing prompt, the first answer, your follow-up and the final answer.
Criteria
What you wrote at the start of the lesson
Going further
The four ingredients of the lesson Writing a good prompt apply as they are to the three tasks of this lesson. The next lesson, Checking an answer, shows what to check when the text contains figures or dates. The Executive assistant sheet offers meeting-report prompts ready to adapt, and the glossary defines iteration.
Frequently asked questions
Can I write my prompt in French rather than English?
Yes. Microsoft's supported languages page lists French (France and Canada) among some fifty languages. It targets the Microsoft Copilot licence, and no separate list exists for Copilot Chat; according to the documentation in force in September 2026, French is supported there. Write in French and add "answer in French" if the reply drifts.
Do I have to start over if the first answer is not right?
No. The conversation keeps the context of the previous turns. Microsoft recommends continuing the exchange: "shorter", "more formal", "as a table". Say what to change and what to keep.
Can Copilot Chat find yesterday's conversation?
Yes: the list of previous conversations lets you reopen and continue it. For a new topic, open a new conversation instead, as Microsoft advises, so that the instructions of one task do not contaminate the next.
How do I get a good-quality translation?
State the target language and its variant, the audience, the register, and the terms to keep as they are (product names, references). For a high-stakes text, have it proofread by a speaker of the target language.