Copilot's Cowork Agent: Introduction & Guide

Copilot's Cowork extends Copilot for Microsoft 365 (M365)* from a chat assistant into a hands-on collaborator.

Where standard Copilot summarizes and suggests, Cowork can take multi-step action on your behalf—producing finished Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files; sending email; scheduling meetings; and building research reports, always working inside your University of Miami Microsoft 365 tenant and permissions.

Before you begin using Cowork, please review the environment, credit policy, and responsible-use expectations below; they include both enhanced capability and important considerations for responsible use in a research and healthcare setting.

*Access to Cowork at the University of Miami is tied to our Copilot for M365 opt-in program. If you haven't done so already, please opt-in first.

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Cowork

Access the Cowork Agent

At the time of publication (July 2026), users can access Copilot Cowork via this link; please note that this access link may change once Microsoft concludes its Cowork rollout.

m365.cloud.microsoft/agents/cowork

Quick Links: Capabilities - Getting Started - Policies - Responsibilities - Best Practices - Scenarios - Resources

 

CAPABILITIES

What Cowork Can Do

Cowork brings a broad set of "do-the-work" capabilities to everyday tasks across the Microsoft 365 apps you already use.

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  • Document Creation

    • Generate polished Word documents, Excel workbooks, PowerPoint decks, and PDFs (reports, memos, budgets, trackers, and slides) from a plain-language request.

  • Email and Inbox Management

    • Draft, send, reply, and forward in Outlook; triage and summarize long threads; search your mailbox; and set rules and out-of-office; all in your voice.

  • Calendar and Scheduling

    • Find times that work for everyone, book rooms, resolve conflicts, reschedule or cancel meetings, and protect your focus time.

  • Teams Collaboration

    • Post and reply in chats and channels, catch up on unread conversations, and summarize discussions without leaving your workflow.

  • Meeting Intelligence

    • Turn Teams transcripts into concise summaries, decisions, and action items, and get prepped with a brief before your next meeting.

  • Daily Briefings

    • Start your day with a prioritized overview of calendar, email, and Teams, or wrap up with a recap of what happened and what's still open.

  • Deep Research

    • Run multi-source, fact-checked research and receive a synthesized report with citations you can trace back to the original sources.

  • Stakeholder Communications

    • Draft audience-tailored updates (leadership summaries, team announcements, and risk escalations) in the right tone for each channel.

  • Image Generation

    • Create and edit original illustrations, icons, and visuals for slides and documents from a text description.

  • Scheduled and Recurring Tasks

    • Automate routine work: a morning briefing, a weekly status digest, or a recurring inbox summary that runs on the schedule you set.

  • Custom Personal Skills

    • Build reusable skills tailored to your team's recurring workflows so Cowork handles them the same way every time.

GETTING STARTED

How to Access Cowork

Access to Cowork at the University of Miami follows a required sequence:

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STEP 1

Opt in to the University's Copilot for M365 program.

Opting in to Copilot for M365 is required to access Cowork. Until you have opted in, Cowork will not appear for your account.

STEP 2

Confirm your license and eligibility.

Once opted in, please allow 1-3 business days for your account to be provisioned with the appropriate Copilot for M365 license. Cowork inherits your existing University permissions; it can only reach the files, mail, and data you already have access to.

STEP 3

Review the environment, credit, and responsible-use policies.

Read the University-specific policies below, the monthly credit cap and responsible-use expectations, before you begin working with Cowork.

STEP 4

Launch Cowork and start working.

Open Cowork from Microsoft 365 and describe what you need in plain language. Cowork will take it from there and check with you before any action leaves your tenant.

UNIVERSITY-SPECIFIC POLICIES

Our Environment & Credit Policy

Cowork at the University of Miami runs under a shared, managed environment with policies designed to keep the service sustainable and equitable for everyone.

Important: Opt-In Requirement & Monthly Credit Cap:

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YOUR ACCESS GATE

Opt-in Required

You must first opt-in to the University's Copilot for M365 program before Cowork becomes available to you.

CURRENT MONTHLY ALLOCATION

25,000 Credits

All Cowork users are currently allocated a cap of 25,000 credits per month, consumed as Cowork completes work on your behalf.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Credit Cap May Fluctuate

The 25,000-credit cap is not fixed. The University may adjust it up or down based on usage, capacity, and program needs.

  • The credit cap helps keep the shared Cowork environment sustainable and available to the entire University community.
  • Heavier tasks—such as large documents, deep research, and data analysis—consume more credits than quick lookups.
  • Bookmark this page for the current allocation; the figure above reflects the policy in effect at time of publication.

RESPONSIBILITIES & RISKS

Using Cowork Responsibly

Cowork is capable of acting on your behalf, so responsible use matters, especially in a research and healthcare environment. As a Cowork user, there are certain expectations:

Your Responsibilities:

  • Follow all University of Miami governance, security, and data-classification policies.
  • Do not enter or process restricted or regulated data (including PHI/HIPAA/FERPA protected information) unless the use has been explicitly approved.
  • Review Cowork's output before you send, share, or act on it, you remain accountable for the result.
  • Disclose that content is AI-generated, where appropriate, in University-facing communications.
  • Apply least-privilege thinking: Cowork should only touch the data your role legitimately needs.

Potential Risks:

  • Sensitive-data exposure, if restricted information is shared with the assistant.
  • Actions such as sending email or posting to Teams are real; always confirm recipients and content before approving.
  • AI output can be incomplete or inaccurate; verify facts, figures, and citations.
  • Exhausting your monthly credit cap can pause your access until the next monthly cycle begins and your credits are refreshed.
  • Cowork works within your permissions; it is not a substitute for professional, legal, or medical judgment.

BEST PRACTICES

Get the Most from Cowork

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Be specific.

  • Clear, detailed requests produce better results. Name the audience, format, and key facts you want included.

Keep sensitive data out.

  • Do not paste restricted or regulated information unless the workflow has been reviewed and approved for it.

Review before you act.

  • Always read drafts and check figures and citations before sending, posting, or publishing anything.

Mind your credits.

  • Batch related tasks and use other tools like Copilot Chat for simple questions to make your monthly allocation go further.

SCENARIOS

When to Use Cowork

Cowork shines when a task involves doing work across your Microsoft 365 apps. For simpler needs, standard Copilot or Copilot Chat may be all you need.

Scenario Use Cowork? Notes

Draft a report, deck, or spreadsheet from scratch

Yes

Cowork produces finished, editable files.

Summarize a meeting and extract action items

Yes, but check whether a simpler tool suffices first

Works from Teams meeting transcripts.

Manage inbox, calendar, and scheduling

Yes

Drafts, sends, and books on your behalf with your approval.

Quick fact or one-line answer

Not needed

Standard Copilot for M365 is faster and lighter.

Work involving PHI or other regulated data

Only with approval

Requires review and explicit approval under University policy.
Multi-source research with citations Yes

Deep-research capability verifies and cites sources.

Departmental or experimental use

 Maybe

Check whether a simpler tool suffices first.

RESOURCES

Learn More & Get Help

The University of Miami's Cowork offering is evolving, and we update this online guide regularly. Please check back often for new features, training, and enablement.

Coming Soon — Training & Enablement:

  • Getting started guides and short how-to videos.
  • Hands-on lunch and learn workshops and office hours.

If you have any questions, reach out to ai@miami.edu.

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