How to Use Copilot in Microsoft Teams (2026)
Copilot in Microsoft Teams is the built-in AI that summarizes meetings, pulls out action items, and catches you up on long chat threads. The one prerequisite people miss: it requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license — a paid per-seat add-on your admin assigns. Without it, the Copilot button simply won’t appear. Here’s how to confirm you have it, use Copilot during and after meetings, and use it in chat.
Prerequisites
- A Microsoft 365 Copilot license assigned to your account (separate paid add-on).
- For richer meeting answers, transcription or recording turned on — though Copilot can work during the live meeting without it (see below).
- Copilot enabled by your org’s admin in the Teams admin center.
1. Use Copilot during a meeting
- Join the Teams meeting.
- Click Copilot in the meeting controls (top of the window).
- The Copilot side panel opens. Type a prompt, such as:
- “Summarize the meeting so far”
- “List the action items and who owns them”
- “What did I miss?” (useful if you join late)
- “What questions are still open?”
- Copilot answers from the live conversation in the panel.
With or without transcription
- If the organizer turns on transcription or recording, Copilot keeps its answers available after the meeting ends.
- If transcription is off, Copilot still works during the live call, but its responses are not saved once the meeting ends. When you open Copilot, Teams asks whether to keep the transcript only for the session or save it.
2. Get a meeting recap afterward
- After the meeting, open it from the Calendar (or Chat) and click the Recap tab.
- The recap includes AI meeting notes, a summary, action items, @mentions, and name-tagged transcript moments.
- Click any item to jump to that point in the recording or transcript.
- Use the Copilot box on the Recap page to ask follow-up questions like “What did the team decide about the launch date?”
Recap with AI notes requires the meeting to have been recorded or transcribed.
3. Use Copilot in chat
- Open a chat or channel thread.
- Click the Copilot icon at the top of the conversation (or ⋯ More options > Copilot).
- Ask things like:
- “Summarize this chat”
- “Catch me up on the last 7 days”
- “Highlight anything that needs a decision from me”
- Copilot reads the visible thread and answers inline.
On mobile
Copilot appears in the Teams mobile app for licensed users. In a meeting, tap ⋯ More to find Copilot; after a meeting, open the event and tap Recap for AI notes. Chat summarization is available from the thread’s Copilot option where enabled.
Troubleshooting
The Copilot button is missing
Copilot requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and must be enabled by your admin. If you don’t see the button anywhere in Teams, your account isn’t licensed — contact your IT admin. The button can also be hidden in meetings where the organizer disabled Copilot.
Copilot says it needs transcription or recording
Some Copilot answers (and the full post-meeting recap) depend on a transcript. Have the organizer turn on Record or Start transcription, or set Copilot to keep the transcript “just during the meeting” when prompted. Without either, Copilot only works live and won’t retain anything afterward.
Answers are limited or vague
Copilot only sees what’s in the current meeting/transcript or the visible chat thread. It won’t pull from other meetings, files, or apps unless those are part of the broader Microsoft 365 Copilot experience. Ask narrower, time-bound questions for sharper answers.
Quick Reference
| Goal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Live summary | Copilot panel > “Summarize so far” |
| Action items | Copilot > “List action items and owners” |
| Catch up late | Copilot > “What did I miss?” |
| Post-meeting notes | Meeting > Recap tab |
| Summarize a chat | Thread > Copilot > “Summarize this chat” |
Copilot needs a paid per-seat M365 license and only works inside Microsoft apps — by contrast, Carly is an AI assistant you reach by email or text that works across Gmail, Outlook, Teams, and 200+ apps. If you mainly want meeting summaries, compare the options in the best AI note-takers for Zoom, Teams, and Meet.
Related Teams guides: Get a transcript in Teams · Record a Teams meeting · Best AI note-takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet · Best AI personal assistants
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