Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word: Improved support for complex edits

Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word will support complex edits like tracked changes, comments, and document structure while preserving formatting and collaboration history. Public preview starts mid-May 2026; general availability begins early June 2026. No action is required, but users can be informed and prepared with example prompts.

[Introduction]

Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word now includes additional capabilities that are native to Word and support complex document edits. These capabilities allow users to work with tracked changes, comments, document structure, and page elements while respecting existing formatting and preserving collaboration history.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in mid-May 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early June 2026 and expect to complete by early July 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot using Word on Windows desktop and Mac
• Public Preview is available to eligible preview and Frontier program participants

What will happen

• Copilot enables Track Changes with word-level precision, with changes visible by default.
• Users can turn on Track Changes from Copilot.
• Copilot supports creating, reading, replying to, and managing comments anchored to document text.
• Users can insert and update a Table of Contents using Word heading styles.
• Copilot can manage headers, footers, columns, margins, and dynamic fields such as page numbers and dates.
• Copilot shows progress messages for multi-step edits in real time.
• Changes are made directly in the document while preserving formatting and collaboration history.
• These capabilities are available by default to eligible Copilot users in Word.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required

You may want to:

• Inform users about expanded Copilot capabilities in Word.
• Review example prompts to understand usage scenarios.
• Update internal documentation for document collaboration workflows if applicable.

Example prompts:

• Revise with precision. Turn on Track Changes and tighten the Executive Summary. Clarify vague words and spell out acronyms without rewriting entire sentences unless necessary.  
• Flag items for review. In the Risk Factors section, flag unclear content and add comments for Finance validation or legal signoff based on what came up in last week’s review meeting. 
• Format for readability. Create a Table of Contents, add a header with the document title and today's date, and include page numbers in the footer.
• Review pending changes. Go through all unresolved tracked changes and comments and create a short ‘Review Summary’ section at the top that captures (1) proposed changes in the document and (2) open questions from comments. 

Learn more: Copilot in Word: New Capabilities for Document Workflows | Microsoft Community Hub

[Compliance considerations]

Question	Answer
Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI or ML capabilities that interact with customer data?	Yes. Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities in Word are expanded to support additional document editing scenarios.
Does the change provide users a new way of interacting with generative AI?	Yes. Users can perform more complex editing, formatting, and review tasks using Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word.