Copilot Skills in Word: What Exists Today

This is part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Skills series.

The honest answer from the public sources checked for this guide: Microsoft documents Edit with Copilot and the Word Agent, but not a standalone Word SKILL.md Skills picker. There is no public Word equivalent of PowerPoint’s Choose skills or Excel’s All Skills page in those sources.

Word does have two useful Copilot experiences:

1. Edit with Copilot in Word — works inside the document you already have open.
2. Word Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot — creates a new Word file from Copilot Chat and saves it to OneDrive.

They are useful. They are not the same as a reusable SKILL.md picker.

The three things people mix together

Simple rule: Open document? Use Edit with Copilot. Need a new file? Use Word Agent. Need reusable SKILL.md instructions in Word? That surface is not publicly documented yet.

Edit with Copilot in Word

Microsoft calls the current in-document editing experience Edit with Copilot in Word. Earlier releases called it Agent Mode.

It works as a co-creator in the open document:

• draft new content;
• rewrite and refine existing text;
• restructure sections;
• apply Word styles and formatting;
• use work context such as files, emails, and meetings when available.

Official UI reference: Microsoft Support — Edit with Copilot in Word. The current public image still shows the older Agent mode label, so capture the live tenant wording.

Open Edit with Copilot

1. Open a Word document.
2. Open Copilot from the Home tab, sidebar, or the Copilot Dynamic Action Button.
3. In the prompt box, select Tools.
4. Select Edit with Copilot.
5. Describe the change you want.
6. Review the result before keeping it.

Official UI reference: Microsoft Support — welcome to Copilot in Word.

A practical edit prompt

Make the executive summary shorter and easier to scan.

Keep the existing facts, figures, and decision.
Use one short opening paragraph followed by no more than five bullets.
Do not change the rest of the document.

That prompt gives Copilot:

• a clear target;
• boundaries;
• an output shape;
• a preserve list.

Those same ingredients make a good Skill description—but Word does not currently expose the public Skill picker needed to save and invoke it as a Word SKILL.md.

Use work context with the slash picker

Word can ground a draft in files, emails, and meetings.

Type / in the Copilot prompt and start typing the source name. You can also choose an item from the menu.

Draft a two-page customer brief using /Project Phoenix steering meeting
and /Project Phoenix decision log.

Use the confirmed decisions only.
Add a final section for open questions.

Microsoft documents up to 20 reference items when creating a new draft.

The permission boundary still matters. You must already have access to the selected SharePoint or OneDrive files.

Review before changes land

In a shared document, Edit with Copilot shows a preview of suggested changes in chat before applying them. Nothing is added until you review and approve it.

For quick drafting, Word also provides:

• Keep it
• Regenerate
• Discard
• a follow-up prompt to refine the result.

Switch to Chat only when you want an answer or critique without changing the document.

What Edit with Copilot does not replace

Edit with Copilot works in the document that is already open. Microsoft’s support page says it cannot create a separate new file from that mode.

It also says external-tool integration is not supported.

For a new document, use the Word Agent.

Capability drift to verify

Microsoft’s current Edit with Copilot support page still lists these limitations:

• cannot generate or insert images in Edit mode;
• cannot add or modify comments;
• cannot turn Track Changes on or off;
• cannot accept or reject tracked changes;
• does respect Track Changes when it is already enabled.

Microsoft’s June 2026 update separately announced image insertion and comment-driven document edits in Word.

Those public pages are not fully aligned.

Things to know

Test image insertion, comment-driven edits, and Track Changes behavior in your tenant. Microsoft’s rollout is staged, so the public pages can describe different points in time.

Word Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot

The Word Agent is a separate experience in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

Use it when you want to create a new Word file from a prompt.

Where to find it

1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot on the web, desktop app, or Teams.
2. Open Tools in Copilot Chat or the Agents menu.
3. Select Word.
4. Describe the document you need.
5. Answer any clarifying questions.
6. Review the preview.
7. Open the saved file from OneDrive.

A practical Word Agent prompt

Create a two-page project proposal.

Include:
- the problem;
- the proposed approach;
- a four-week timeline;
- risks and mitigations;
- decisions needed.

Use plain language for a mixed technical and business audience.

The Word Agent creates a file, shows a preview, and saves it to OneDrive.

Word Agent availability and admin dependency

Microsoft says the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents are available to Microsoft 365 users:

• with or without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence;
• including Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium plans;
• in supported Microsoft 365 Copilot languages.

The organisational experience depends on Anthropic models being enabled. Microsoft says these file-creation Agents exclusively use Anthropic models, and an admin can disable that model provider.

If the Word Agent is missing:

1. check whether the Anthropic model provider is enabled;
2. check regional availability;
3. check the Microsoft 365 Copilot app rather than the Word app;
4. confirm your account and licence context.

GA or still rolling out?

The public wording is mixed.

The safest public wording is:

Edit with Copilot has been announced as generally available, but Microsoft still describes parts of the Word rollout and consumer access as staged. Availability can depend on licence, organisation settings, platform, and update channel.

Recheck both pages against your tenant before relying on the table.

Where SKILL.md fits today

PowerPoint publicly documents:

• Choose skills
• @ mention invocation
• Manage skills
• custom upload
• OneDrive Skill storage.

Excel publicly documents:

• All Skills
• @ mention invocation
• Manage skills
• OneDrive custom Skills.

Cowork publicly documents:

• built-in Skills;
• personal custom Skills;
• shared Skills;
• packaged plugin Skills.

Word does not currently have an equivalent public support page.

That means this spoke should not invent:

• Choose skills in Word;
• Manage skills in Word;
• a Word @skill-name workflow;
• a Word custom-Skill upload screen.

What to use in Word today

Troubleshooting

Continue the Copilot Skills series

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Skills, explained — the hub.
• Skills in PowerPoint — the documented picker and custom upload flow.
• Skills in Excel — end-user Skills and the separate Office.js preview.
• Cowork Skill packaging and distribution — packages, connectors, MCP, validation, and publishing.
• Write your first SKILL.md — the practical authoring guide.
• Admin and governance for Copilot Skills — controls, permissions, Purview, and rollout.

Official public sources

• Microsoft Support — welcome to Copilot in Word
• Microsoft Support — Edit with Copilot in Word
• Microsoft Support — draft and add content with Copilot in Word
• Microsoft Support — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Microsoft Learn — admin controls for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents
• Microsoft 365 Blog — agentic capabilities in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Microsoft 365 Copilot June 2026 feature update