Cheatsheet
Personalisationin Copilot
Work IQ already knows your work: mail, meetings, files, your network. What it doesn't know is you — how you work, what you repeat, the shape you need answers in. That gap takes about twenty minutes to close. After that you stop explaining who you are in every single chat.
Work IQ is already set up
Mail, meetings, files, your network and what Copilot infers from your chat history — it knows all of that automatically. You start at step one.
About you
2 minStart where Copilot has nothing: your role, the topics you work on, the tools you live in. Open the Copilot menu, go to chat settings, then Personalisation, and write it into the first field.
„Toggles greyed out? Then personalisation is disabled for your tenant and you can't turn it on yourself. Ask your admin."
Custom instructions
5 minNow define the standing behaviour: language, tone, format, shortcuts. Written once, it applies to every chat without you repeating it.
„Analyse how I work and draft custom instructions for me in Markdown, ready to copy and paste."
Kickstart interview
5 minLet Copilot do the work. It asks, you answer, and every answer becomes part of your personalisation.
„Ask me 10 questions about myself so you can improve my custom instructions. Then write an optimised version."
Targeted memory
5 minThe formula is simply: remember that. Projects, stakeholders, specific knowledge, format preferences — tell Copilot directly instead of hoping it infers them.
„Remember that: always structure meeting summaries into decisions, tasks and open questions."
Chat history
Microsoft Frontier programme only
The fourth setting lets Copilot draw on your earlier conversations, so it carries context across sessions. Turning it off doesn't delete anything — it only stops Copilot using it.
„Not in every tenant. If you can't see the setting, your organisation isn't in the Microsoft Frontier programme."
Stay in control
3 minYour memories, your rules. Review them, edit them, delete what's wrong. Three minutes a week keeps it from drifting.
„What have you remembered about me so far?"
Pro move: shortcuts
Put recurring prompts into your custom instructions as shortcuts. #DE-EN translates from German to English, #ExS writes an executive summary — the rest is yours to invent.
FAQ
Do I have to switch personalisation on first?
Usually not. Enhanced personalisation is on by default at tenant level, so memory is already active. You only need your admin if the toggles appear greyed out — then it has been switched off for your organisation.
Where are my memories stored and who can see them?
In a hidden folder in your own Exchange mailbox, under the same security and compliance rules as the rest of your mailbox data. Admins can search memories through Purview eDiscovery.
Do our retention policies apply to Copilot memory?
No. Purview retention policies don't cover Copilot memory, and there are no admin controls to enforce retention on it. Saved memories stay until the user deletes them.
What's the difference between custom instructions and memory?
Instructions are behaviour you write yourself and that applies everywhere. Memory is facts — either saved by you on request, or inferred from how you work.
Why can't I see the chat history setting?
It's a preview feature tied to the Microsoft Frontier programme and isn't available in every tenant. If the setting doesn't appear, your organisation hasn't enabled that preview.
Last updated: 6 August 2026
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