How to Ask a Question on a file in SharePoint or OneDrive using Copilot

Do you have an annoying colleague who just asks too many questions? 😊 Perhaps your boss has questions about the recent budget document you prepared. You can now direct them to the magic functionality of Copilot in Microsoft 365. Especially, the ability to ask questions about a specific file. Let me explain how this works.

Prerequisite for Ask a Question Copilot feature

It is important to note that if you would like to use Copilot functionality, you would need to obtain a dedicated Microsoft 365 Copilot License in addition to your regular Microsoft 365 license. While a bit pricey, it is a small price to pay for that annoying coworker of yours 😊

How to ask a question on a file in SharePoint and OneDrive using Copilot

1. From OneDrive, choose the file, then Copilot > Ask a question
2. On the side panel that appears, choose one of the suggested questions or type your own question.
3. You will then receive the answer(s) to your question.
4. You can Copy the responses or ask follow-up questions as necessary.

Nuances about the Ask a question feature in SharePoint and OneDrive

1. As of the writing of this post, the Copilot feature is only available in OneDrive for Business. This feature is expected to be soon available from the SharePoint document library interface. For now, if you wish to access this and other Copilot feature in SharePoint, just pick a document library from the Quick access menu in OneDrive!
2. You can ask a question on one or multiple documents at the same time (you can only select a maximum of 5 documents for this Copilot feature)