M365 Changelog: (Updated) Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365: Automatic summary of documents on file-open in Word – Mar 6, 2025

MC866452 – Updated March 6, 2025: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

When you open a document, Copilot for Microsoft 365 for Microsoft Word will generate a summary in the window at the top of the Word document. You can hide the summary or open the Copilot chat pane to ask specific questions about the document.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 397096.

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out late August 2024 and expects to complete by late May 2025 (previously late February). 

How this will affect your organization:

Users will see a new UI between the canvas and the ribbon in Word supporting a summary of the document created by Copilot for Microsoft 365. This UI can be collapsed if the user does not want to see the summary.

Fully expanded:

Semi-expanded:

This new feature is available by default.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

End User documentation:

Create a summary of your document with Copilot – Microsoft Support