Post #: 273

Date: 2026-06-18

Category: SharePoint

Subcategory: Copilot & AI

Keywords: sharepoint copilot 2026, AI document search SharePoint, copilot SharePoint, SharePoint AI assistant, microsoft 365 sharepoint

SharePoint Copilot in 2026: Use AI to Find, Summarise, and Interact with Your Company's Documents

Every organisation drowns in documents. Policies, project briefs, contracts, meeting notes, technical specs pile up in SharePoint libraries, buried under folder hierarchies no one can fully navigate. In 2026, SharePoint Copilot changes this completely.

SharePoint Copilot uses Microsoft AI, connected to your entire SharePoint environment with proper permissions, to let you find, summarise, compare, and interact with your company's documents using plain English. Instead of browsing folder trees or guessing the right search keyword, you simply ask. This guide explains everything you need to know about using SharePoint Copilot effectively in 2026.

What SharePoint Copilot Can Do

Document Search: find files across your SharePoint sites using natural language queries

Document Summarisation: get an instant summary of any document without opening it

Multi-Document Comparison: compare two or more documents and highlight key differences

Q&A Over Documents: ask specific questions about a document and get direct answers with citations

Site Page Creation: describe the page content you want and Copilot drafts a SharePoint site page

List and Library Intelligence: query your SharePoint Lists with plain English instead of building filter views

Getting Started with SharePoint Copilot

Accessing Copilot in SharePoint

Open SharePoint Online and navigate to any document library or site.

Look for the Copilot icon in the top-right corner of the library or site header and click it to open the Copilot panel.

Alternatively, when you select a document in a library, the Copilot option appears in the action toolbar.

You can also access Copilot from Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and search specifically within SharePoint content.

Permissions and What Copilot Can See

SharePoint Copilot respects all existing file and site permissions. It only surfaces documents you have access to. It cannot retrieve files from sites or libraries where you do not have at least Read permission. Copilot does not bypass security; it works within it.

Finding Documents with Natural Language

The most immediately useful feature for most users is natural language search. Instead of remembering exactly what a file was named or which library it lives in, simply describe what you are looking for. Example queries:

Find the IT security policy that was updated earlier this year

Show me all project proposals for the marketing team from the last six months

Where is the supplier onboarding process document?

Find the contract template for freelance contractors

Copilot searches across all SharePoint sites you have access to and returns relevant results with the document name, location, and a brief snippet showing why it matched your query.

Summarising Documents Instantly

How to Summarise a Document

Select the document in a SharePoint library by clicking its checkbox.

In the action bar that appears, click Summarise with Copilot.

The Copilot panel opens with a structured summary including key points, main conclusions, and relevant details.

Alternatively, open the Copilot chat and type: Summarise the document [filename]. This is particularly valuable for long policy manuals, legal agreements, or annual reports where you need the main points before deciding whether to read in full.

Asking Questions About Specific Documents

Summaries are a great starting point, but Copilot's Q&A capability is where the real productivity gains emerge. You can ask specific questions and get direct, cited answers. Example questions:

What is the notice period stated in the supplier contract?

Which team is responsible for the Phase 2 deliverables in the project plan?

What are the GDPR obligations listed in the data processing agreement?

Copilot answers each question and includes a citation with page number or section reference so you can verify the answer in the original document.

Comparing Multiple Documents

SharePoint Copilot can analyse and compare two or more documents, invaluable for contract negotiations, policy updates, and research synthesis. Example comparison prompts:

Compare this year's vendor contract with last year's version and highlight any changes to payment terms or liability clauses

What are the key differences between the Q1 and Q2 project status reports?

Compare these two supplier proposals and tell me which offers better terms on delivery timelines

Copilot returns a structured comparison organised as a list of differences or a side-by-side summary. For contract work, this dramatically reduces the time spent on manual document review.

Creating SharePoint Site Pages with Copilot

Navigate to the SharePoint site where you want to create a page.

Click New in the site toolbar and select Page.

On the new page editor, click the Copilot button in the toolbar.

Describe the page you want: for example, "Create an onboarding page for new Finance team employees with links to the expense policy, benefits guide, and key contacts."

Copilot generates a structured page with sections, headers, and suggested content, potentially linking to relevant SharePoint resources.

Edit and refine using both Copilot prompts and manual editing, then publish.

Querying SharePoint Lists

SharePoint Lists are used for project trackers, asset registers, issue logs, and more. Copilot now lets you query these lists in plain English. Example list queries:

Show me all open IT support tickets assigned to the London office submitted in the last 30 days

How many projects in the tracker are marked as At Risk?

List all assets in the register with a value over 10,000

Copilot translates your natural language query into the appropriate filters and returns results directly in the Copilot pane, or you can ask it to export the results to Excel.

Best Practices for SharePoint Copilot in 2026

Keep document metadata up to date: Copilot uses file names, titles, and metadata to find and contextualise documents. Well-named files are easier to find.

Organise sensitive content carefully: Copilot surfaces content based on your permissions, so ensure sensitive documents are properly secured.

Use specific questions: "What does this document say?" is less useful than "What is the approval process described in section 3 of the IT governance policy?"

Verify critical information: for legal or compliance queries, cross-reference Copilot's answer with the source document before acting on it.

Combine with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: for organisation-wide searches spanning SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive, use Copilot Chat at copilot.microsoft.com.

Conclusion: Your Company's Knowledge, Finally Accessible

SharePoint holds the institutional memory of most organisations, years of decisions, policies, and work product. The problem has always been access: finding the right information at the right moment. SharePoint Copilot in 2026 solves that problem.

Whether you are onboarding a new employee, preparing for a negotiation, auditing compliance documentation, or simply trying to remember where a policy lives, Copilot makes your company's knowledge accessible through conversation. Start with one document you need to find or understand today, and let Copilot show you what is possible.

What type of documents do you spend the most time searching for? Tell us in the comments and we will suggest the right Copilot workflow for your situation.

Word Count: ~980

Status: Ready for publishing