Filed as it lands.
Copilot in Outlook now turns a plain request into a standard Inbox rule, so newsletters, invoices and alerts get sorted while you're out. Copilot shows each rule and waits for you to confirm.
As of Oct. 6, 2026 · About a 5-minute read
View PDFDownload5 pages · 151 KBCopilot writes your Inbox rules.
Some mail arrives in steady streams: newsletters, invoices, system alerts, the weekly report from the same sender. Sorting it by hand starts again after every meeting or day off.
Outlook already does this job with Inbox rules. Microsoft's Copilot can now write the rule from a sentence. It shows you a summary first and creates nothing until you confirm. After that, it's a standard Inbox rule that acts on new mail as it arrives.
Microsoft rules help- 1New mail arrives
- 2Outlook checks the rule's condition: sender or subject
- 3Moves, categorizes or deletes it
- 4You check the folder later
Rules made by Copilot are standard Inbox rules, and they only touch mail that arrives after you create them.
Microsoft rules helpSix steps in Outlook.
Do this in Outlook with your work or school account: new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, classic Outlook or Outlook for Mac. Microsoft also offers rules in the Copilot pane on phones, but the link to Outlook's own rules settings isn't there, so finish on a computer.
- A work or school Microsoft account with Copilot in Outlook. Microsoft says Copilot in Outlook works only on your primary mailbox, hosted on Exchange Online.
- Your company's approval to use Copilot on your work mailbox. Which Copilot features you get depends on the license your admin assigned. Microsoft's pages don't settle whether making rules needs the paid add-on; your IT team will know.
- A short list of the senders you'd like out of your inbox.
Open Copilot in Outlook
Sign in to Outlook with your work or school account and select the Copilot button near the top of the window. If there's no button, ask IT whether Copilot is turned on for your account.
See what's already there
Paste: Show me my current rules. Copilot lists each rule's name, condition, action and whether it's on. Listing changes nothing. Note anything that already moves mail, so a new rule doesn't conflict with it.
Make the first rule
Start with one sender. Paste, with your own sender and folder: Create a rule to move emails from newsletters@example.com to a Read Later folder. Copilot replies with a summary: the condition, the action and that the rule applies to future emails only. If the folder doesn't exist, it asks to create the folder and the rule together. Read it, then confirm.
Copilot shows the rule, then waits Microsoft rules help · Microsoft 365 Copilot release notesBefore it creates, changes or deletes a rule, Copilot shows what the rule will do and waits. For moves made by hand, Microsoft promises that prompt only above five emails.
Add a label instead of a move
For mail you still want in front of you, add a category instead of a move: Categorize emails from my manager as Important.
Clear the backlog by hand
A rule ignores mail that's already in your inbox. For that, ask once: Move emails from Contoso about invoices to my Finance folder. Microsoft promises a confirmation prompt only when Copilot acts on more than five emails, so name the sender and folder exactly.
Check it in Outlook's settings
Each time Copilot creates or changes a rule, its reply includes an Outlook Rules settings link to Outlook's own rules page. Open it once to see the rule as Outlook stores it. To change one later, ask in plain words: Change the Read Later rule to move mail to Archive instead.
- Decide which senders get a rule and which mail must stay in front of you.
- Read Copilot's summary before every confirmation.
- Open the new folders once a day for the first week, to catch anything filed by mistake.
No separate charge for Copilot Chat on eligible Microsoft 365 work plans, Microsoft says. Some Copilot features in Outlook need the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on, which Microsoft lists for businesses at $25.20 per user per month on monthly billing. Your employer decides and pays.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business · Microsoft Copilot in Outlook help- Small moves may skip the prompt. Microsoft's notes promise confirmation when Copilot acts on more than five emails or changes a rule, and say nothing about smaller moves. Be exact about sender and folder, and ask it to list matching emails before you ask it to move them.
- A broad rule hides mail you need. A rule keyed on a word like "invoice" catches every message with that word, including the one from your boss. Prefer rules by sender, and file to a folder you check.
- Deleted mail is easy to miss. Copilot can create rules that delete mail. Use move rules instead, so a mistake costs you a search through a folder.
- It won't see everything. Microsoft says these features don't work on signed or encrypted email, on mail with IRM protection or on some sensitivity-labelled mail.
Copilot can now sort mail on request.
Microsoft's Sept. 23 release notes, covering updates released from Aug. 26 to Sept. 22, add plain-language triage to Copilot in Outlook: delete, move, copy and categorize mail, and create rules and folders. It builds on a preview that Microsoft opened in the spring, on April 27, to users in its Frontier program. The notes say the actions work across classic and new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, Mac and mobile. The same notes list Copilot Cowork, which Microsoft says completes multi-step work with your approval.
Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes · Microsoft Frontier inbox help- April 27Inbox actions preview starts for Frontier users
- Sept. 23Release notes add delete, move, copy, categorize, rules and folders
- Ask IT first. Copilot in Outlook is your company's tool. Use it on a work mailbox only as your IT team allows.
- List first. Run Show me my current rules so a new rule doesn't clash with an old one.
- Use move rules. Every rule you confirm should file mail to a folder you check.
- Check the summary. Sender, folder and "future emails only" should all match what you meant.
Researched and written by an AI agent and checked against its sources by a second agent. Informational only, not investment advice. Not the views of any employer.
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