Copilot in Word: Rewriting and Editing

Overview

Government professionals write and revise documents constantly — policy memos, briefings, reports, correspondence. Getting the tone right for the audience, meeting length requirements, and polishing language takes significant time. Copilot in Word can rewrite selected text, adjust tone and style, and expand or condense content so you spend less time editing and more time on the substance that matters.

This video shows you how to use Copilot’s rewriting and editing features in Word to transform your content quickly and effectively.

What You’ll Learn

• Getting Started: How to access Copilot’s rewriting features in Word
• Rewriting Text: How to select and rewrite passages with alternative versions
• Tone and Style: How to adjust the tone from formal to casual and back
• Length Control: How to expand or condense content to meet your needs

Script

Hook: Stop rewriting from scratch

How much time did you spend last week editing documents? Revising a paragraph for the third time because the tone was wrong? Cutting a two-page section down to half a page for a decision memo? Expanding bullet points into a full narrative for a justification document?

Government professionals live in documents, and editing consumes hours that could go toward substance. Copilot in Word rewrites your text for you — adjusting tone, length, and style in seconds instead of minutes.

In the next six minutes, you will learn how to use Copilot to rewrite and refine content without starting from scratch.

Getting started with rewriting

You need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license — the rewriting features are not available in the free Copilot Chat tier. Copilot’s inline rewriting works in Word for the desktop and Word for the web, and is fully supported in GCC, GCC High, and DoD tenants.

To access Copilot, open a document and look for the Copilot icon in the Home tab of the ribbon. You can also select text and click the Copilot icon that appears near your selection.

Rewriting selected text

The most direct way to rewrite content is to select the text you want to change.

Highlight a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire section. When you select text, a small Copilot icon appears near your selection. Click it and choose “Rewrite” from the options. Copilot generates alternative versions of your selected text.

You will see the suggestions displayed so you can compare them with your original. Each suggestion takes a slightly different approach — one might be more concise, another might restructure the sentences, and a third might emphasize different points. You can accept a suggestion to replace your original text, discard it and try again, or regenerate for fresh alternatives.

Here is a practical government scenario. You have drafted a policy brief for a technical audience, but now the front office needs a version for congressional staff who are not subject-matter experts. Select the technical paragraphs, click rewrite, and Copilot produces versions that convey the same information in plainer language. Instead of rewriting from scratch, you have a starting point in seconds.

You can also type specific instructions in the Copilot prompt. For example, “Rewrite this paragraph to emphasize the cost savings” or “Rewrite this section to focus on the timeline.” The more specific your instruction, the more targeted the result.

Adjusting tone and style

Copilot lets you shift tone and style to match your audience. Ask for “more formal” and Copilot restructures sentences and adopts a professional register. Ask for “more concise” and it strips unnecessary words. Ask for “more approachable” and it simplifies vocabulary.

An internal team update has a different tone than an interagency memorandum. A briefing for senior leadership reads differently from an FAQ for end users. Copilot handles these transitions.

Here is an example. You wrote a technical update about a system migration that reads like an engineering log. Select the text and tell Copilot, “Rewrite this for an executive briefing.” The result keeps the facts but presents them so leadership can scan and understand immediately. If the first result is close but not right, refine: “Keep the technical detail but simplify the sentence structure.”

Making content longer or shorter

Government writing frequently demands specific lengths. A decision memo might need to fit on one page. A justification document might require detailed supporting narrative. Copilot handles both directions.

To expand content, select your brief text — bullet points, an outline, or a short paragraph — and ask Copilot to “expand this into a full paragraph” or “add more detail and supporting context.” Copilot generates a fleshed-out version that you can then edit for accuracy.

To condense content, select a lengthy passage and ask Copilot to “shorten this to half the length” or “summarize this in two sentences.” Copilot identifies the key points and removes the surrounding detail.

Specific prompts produce better results. Instead of “make this shorter,” try “condense this to three sentences, keeping the budget figures and timeline.” Instead of “make this longer,” try “expand this into two paragraphs, adding context about the compliance requirements.”

For government writers, this is particularly valuable for adapting content across formats. The same information might appear as a one-paragraph summary in a slide deck, a half-page section in a memo, and a full-page discussion in a report. Copilot helps you scale content up or down without losing the core message.

Close: Rewrite smarter, not harder

Let us recap what you have learned. You can select any text in Word and use Copilot to generate rewritten alternatives. You can adjust tone and style to match your audience, whether that is technical staff, senior leadership, or congressional stakeholders. And you can expand or condense content to fit the format you need.

Here is what to do next. Open a document you are currently working on. Select a paragraph you have been meaning to revise. Use Copilot to rewrite it and see how the suggestions compare to what you would have written manually. Experiment with different tone instructions and length adjustments.

Remember: Copilot suggests, you decide. Every output is a starting point that you review, refine, and own. Start rewriting smarter today.

Sources & References

• Transform content with Copilot in Word — Official guide for rewriting and transforming content using Copilot in Word
• Welcome to Copilot in Word — Overview of all Copilot capabilities in Word
• Copilot adoption resources — Adoption guidance and government cloud availability