Put your profile into Copilot

01Use the first option you actually have

1. Custom instructions for your short, stable defaults.
2. Memory for preferences you want Copilot to retain and let you review.
3. A saved prompt for a reusable session starter.
4. A Copilot Notebook for a profile plus recurring reference material.
5. Manual paste at the start of an important chat.

You can combine these. Keep the master profile in a document you control so a product setting never becomes the only copy.

02Put the shortest version in Custom instructions

Microsoft's current path in Copilot Chat is:

1. Open Settings and more in the top-right corner.
2. Choose Chat settings, then Personalization.
3. Under Custom instructions, choose Edit instructions.
4. Add your short profile and save it.

Use this space for instructions that should affect most chats. Keep project facts, live deadlines and task sources in the current prompt.

Start with the answer or current status. Use plain Australian English and short headings when they help scanning. Separate confirmed facts, assumptions and open questions. Check names, dates, numbers and owners against the source. Never invent progress, approval, sentiment or deadlines. Ask a clarifying question when the audience, source or decision needed is missing.

03Review Memory before you rely on it

If Memory appears under Settings → Personalization, inspect what Copilot has saved or inferred. Remove anything wrong, stale or too sensitive for a reusable preference.

• Save durable preferences such as answer structure or language.
• Don't save client facts, passwords, personal details or current project status.
• Ask Copilot what it remembers, then check the settings view rather than assuming the chat answer is complete.

Temporary chat isn't an invisibility switch. Microsoft says temporary chats may still be retained under your organisation's policy and accessible to authorised IT administrators.

04Save a session starter

Use the working profile below for this chat.

[PASTE YOUR REVIEWED PROFILE]

Confirm the five instructions that will most affect your answers. Then ask what job we're doing, who it's for and what source you should use. Don't start the work until those three things are clear.

Name it something obvious, such as “Start with my working profile”. A saved prompt is reusable text, so keep changing facts out of it.

05Use a Notebook when the job needs a home

If Notebooks appears, create one called How I work or name it for a recurring workflow. Add your reviewed profile as a reference, then add only the approved material needed for that job.

You can also open the menu beside the Notebook name, choose Copilot instructions, add a short instruction set and save it. Microsoft says people you share the Notebook with can see and edit those instructions, so don't treat them as private.

Good Notebook uses

• a weekly project update using the same plan, decision log and template
• a policy explainer grounded in the current approved documents
• meeting preparation from a stable set of project references

06The manual path still works

If none of those features appears, keep your profile in an approved document. Paste the short version at the start of an important chat, then give Copilot the current goal, context, source and expectations.

It takes an extra half-minute. It also makes the setup visible, editable and portable between tools.