Beckmann
AI in Practice

Copilot Now Creates Finished Word and Excel Files in SharePoint

Microsoft is rolling out a Copilot feature in SharePoint: existing folder contents automatically turn into finished Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

By Published on

3 min read
Office worker at a desk, on whose laptop screen a SharePoint folder icon transforms into finished Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file icons. Image generated with GPT Image 2
Office worker at a desk, on whose laptop screen a SharePoint folder icon transforms into finished Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file icons.

TL;DR Too Long; Didn’t read

Copilot in SharePoint turns existing folder contents into finished Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files through a simple text prompt, with no blank document required. The feature rolled out automatically in June 2026 for all companies with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and costs nothing extra. Without a Copilot license, the feature stays invisible. Microsoft still officially lists it as a preview.

Key takeaways

  • Copilot in SharePoint now creates finished Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly from existing folder contents.
  • The feature rolled out automatically for all users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, with no IT activation needed.
  • Costs only come from the existing Copilot license; there is no separate add-on package for SharePoint.
  • Without a Copilot license, the feature stays invisible; a regular Microsoft 365 account alone is not enough.
  • Microsoft still officially lists the feature as a preview (opt-out preview), not a finished product.
  • A new /Skills command shows an organization's existing automations directly inside the Copilot chat.

Microsoft has recently enabled Copilot in SharePoint to create complete Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly from existing folders, with no blank document required. A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required; the feature is on by default and costs nothing extra during the ongoing preview phase.

Copilot builds finished files from SharePoint content

Copilot in SharePoint was previously called “AI in SharePoint” and mainly helped answer questions about stored files. Since mid-June 2026, a much broader capability has arrived: type a prompt like “Create a status report from this folder” and Copilot returns a finished Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, with no copying between separate programs. Until now, that usually meant manually pulling sections from several files into a new document and matching the formatting by hand. According to Microsoft’s own product overview, users can also build an interactive HTML report with tables, filters, and key figures from SharePoint content, useful for a management status overview. A new “/Skills” command additionally shows which reusable workflows already exist inside the organization, so nobody builds the same template twice. Finished files can then be shared straight from the Copilot chat with individual colleagues, skipping the usual sharing dialog.

In daily office work, hours of formatting disappear

The biggest time savings show up wherever content used to be painstakingly gathered from several files and formatted by hand. An assistant who compiles a weekly status report for a team lead from project notes, spreadsheets, and email attachments in a shared SharePoint folder now only needs to type a short prompt. Copilot searches the folder, pulls out the relevant details, and delivers a ready-formatted Word or PowerPoint file with the key points, which can still be refined with a follow-up request. Anyone who wants to try the feature can find it here:

  1. Open a library or folder with the desired content in SharePoint.
  2. Open the Copilot pane via the Copilot button in the bottom-right corner, or the AI icon on a file.
  3. Type a prompt, such as “Create a status report from this folder as a Word file.”
  4. Review the result and refine tone, length, or structure with another prompt.
  5. Share the finished file straight from the chat with colleagues.

If the Copilot button is missing, it’s usually down to a missing license or the organization having disabled the feature for certain sites.

The feature only costs money through the existing Copilot license

According to Microsoft’s own setup guide, Copilot in SharePoint is part of the existing Microsoft 365 Copilot license and costs nothing extra, neither during the current preview nor after the planned general release. Since mid-June 2026, the feature has rolled out as an opt-out preview automatically for all users with a valid Copilot license; no IT team needs to switch anything on. Anyone already using Copilot in Excel for month-end closing is drawing on the same license, just with a SharePoint folder instead of a single spreadsheet as the starting point. Without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, the Copilot pane described here stays invisible in SharePoint; a regular Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise account alone is not enough. The feature currently isn’t supported in U.S. government clouds or in the Chinese operation run by 21Vianet; that restriction doesn’t apply to regular business accounts in Germany and the EU. Which languages Copilot in SharePoint supports depends on which language both SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot support; Microsoft lists German among the supported languages for both services.

What matters now is whether Microsoft moves the feature from its officially ongoing preview into regular operation without significantly changing cost or scope; the company hasn’t given a fixed date for that yet. Because Copilot searches entire SharePoint folders to do this, it’s worth checking internal guidelines on handling customer and contract data before first use, especially if folders with sensitive content are involved. How reliable the generated files are also depends heavily on the quality and freshness of the source data in the folder – a human review before sending anything to customers or management remains advisable.

Frequently asked questions

What does Copilot in SharePoint cost on top?

Nothing. The feature is included in the existing Microsoft 365 Copilot license, both during the preview phase and after the planned general release.

Do I need a separate SharePoint subscription?

No, a regular Microsoft 365 account alone is not enough for Copilot features. Only the additional Copilot license, which covers the whole Microsoft 365 environment, is required.

Is the feature available in German?

Yes, Microsoft lists German among the supported languages for both SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Copilot, provided the organization has set up a German-language interface.

Can I feed it customer or company data?

That depends on the organization's internal policies, since Copilot draws on entire SharePoint folders for this. It is worth checking data-handling guidelines beforehand.

How is this different from Copilot directly inside Word or Excel?

Copilot in Word or Excel works on a single, already open file, while Copilot in SharePoint pulls from several stored files in a folder at once as the basis for a new document.

#AI in Practice
Sources

Related articles

← Back to the blog