Use Outlook's AI to Draft SME and Stakeholder Emails
What This Does
Outlook's Copilot AI drafts professional emails for the repetitive communication work every instructional designer does constantly: following up with delayed SMEs, explaining revision timelines diplomatically, requesting content, and sending project update summaries.
Before You Start
- You have Microsoft Outlook (desktop app or web at outlook.microsoft.com)
- Your organization has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (check with your IT admin if unsure)
- You know the key points you want to communicate
Steps
1. Start a new email
Open Outlook → click New Mail (desktop) or the + compose button (web).
What you should see: A blank email compose window.
2. Open the Copilot drafting tool
Look for the Copilot icon in the email compose toolbar — it looks like a sparkle or the Copilot logo → click Draft with Copilot.
What you should see: A Copilot panel or prompt box appears, asking you to describe the email you want.
3. Describe the email you need
Type a brief description of the situation. Be specific about the tone you want:
For a follow-up on delayed SME content:
"Write a professional, friendly email following up with a subject matter expert named [name] who was supposed to send module content last week. Remind them we need it by [date] to stay on schedule. Keep it polite but clear about the timeline impact. Don't sound frustrated."
For explaining a revision timeline:
"Write an email to our L&D director explaining that the course revision will take 2 additional weeks because we received stakeholder feedback that requires rebuilding two modules. Emphasize what we're doing and when they'll see the updated version."
Click Generate → Copilot drafts the email.
What you should see: A draft email in the compose window, ready to review.
4. Review and adjust
Read through the draft → adjust any specific details (names, dates, project specifics) → if the tone isn't right, click Regenerate or add a note like "make this more direct" or "make this warmer."
What you should see: The draft updates in the compose window.
5. Add your personal touch and send
Review the final draft → make any edits → fill in the To and Subject fields → send.
Real Example
Scenario: Your compliance SME missed their content deadline for the third time. You need to send a firm but professional email that doesn't damage the working relationship.
What you type to Copilot: "Draft an email to a compliance SME who has missed our content deadline again. We need their review of the draft storyboard by end of day Friday or we'll miss the course launch date. Ask them to confirm they can meet this deadline and let us know if they need help prioritizing. Tone: professional and direct, not accusatory."
What you get: A drafted email with clear deadline language, an opening offer of help, and a clear ask for confirmation — without the frustrated undertone you might have written yourself at the end of a long day.
Tips
- Save your best email prompts as Quick Parts (Outlook's template feature) — you'll use the same follow-up email structure dozens of times per year
- For sensitive emails (performance issues, scope disputes), always review carefully — Copilot's draft is a starting point, not a final version
- Use Copilot to summarize a long email thread before replying: click the Copilot icon inside an open email thread and select Summarize to get a quick overview of what's been said
Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.