How to Use Copilot in Word Comments to Resolve Reviewer Feedback

Reviewer feedback in Word documents often arrives as a long list of comments. Reading each one, deciding how to respond, and then making the edit can take hours. Copilot in Word can read these comments, summarize the feedback, and even draft a reply for you. This article explains how to use Copilot to manage reviewer comments more efficiently. You will learn the exact steps to generate summaries and responses directly from the Comments pane.

How Copilot Interprets and Responds to Comments

Copilot in Word comments uses the Microsoft Graph to read the comment thread and the surrounding paragraph. It does not access comments outside the current document. The feature requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription with Copilot for Microsoft 365 or Copilot Pro. The comment must be in a Word document saved to OneDrive or SharePoint. Copilot can process comments written in English and several other languages, but the replies it drafts use English by default.

When you ask Copilot to summarize comments, it groups similar feedback, highlights the most frequent requests, and lists them in a numbered format. When you ask it to draft a reply, it analyzes the comment tone, the paragraph it refers to, and your document role to produce a context-aware response. Copilot does not resolve comments automatically. You must choose to apply the suggested edit or reply manually.

Steps to Summarize All Reviewer Comments with Copilot

1. Open the document and enable Copilot
   Open the Word document that contains reviewer comments. Click the Copilot icon on the Home tab or press Alt+I to open the Copilot pane.
2. Switch to the Comments tab
   In the Copilot pane, select the Comments tab. This tab is visible only when the document has at least one comment.
3. Select Summarize comments
   Click the Summarize comments button. Copilot reads all open comments in the document and displays a summary in the pane. The summary includes the main topics, the number of comments per topic, and the suggested action for each.
4. Copy or use the summary
   Select the text in the summary and copy it to your clipboard with Ctrl+C. You can paste it into an email to the reviewer or into a separate notes document. Copilot does not save the summary automatically.

Steps to Draft a Reply to a Specific Comment

1. Select the comment to reply to
   In the document, click the comment bubble to select it. The comment thread opens in the right-hand Comments pane.
2. Open the Copilot pane
   Click the Copilot icon on the Home tab or press Alt+I. The Copilot pane opens with the Comments tab active if a comment is selected.
3. Click Draft a reply
   In the Copilot pane, click the Draft a reply button. Copilot generates a response based on the comment text and the paragraph it refers to. The draft appears in the Copilot pane, not in the comment thread.
4. Review and insert the reply
   Read the draft. If it is acceptable, click Insert reply. Copilot places the text as a new reply in the comment thread. If the draft is not suitable, click Regenerate to get a different version or edit the text manually before inserting.

Steps to Resolve a Comment After Making an Edit

1. Select the comment to resolve
   Click the comment bubble to select it.
2. Open the Copilot pane
   Press Alt+I to open the Copilot pane. The Comments tab shows the selected comment.
3. Click Apply suggested edit
   If the comment contains a specific edit request, Copilot may show an Apply suggested edit button. Click it. Copilot modifies the document text according to the comment suggestion.
4. Click Resolve comment
   After applying the edit, click the Resolve comment button in the Copilot pane. The comment is marked as resolved in the document and is hidden from the default view.

Common Issues When Using Copilot with Comments

Copilot does not show the Comments tab

The Comments tab appears only when the document has at least one comment. If the document has comments but the tab is missing, close and reopen the document. If the problem persists, check that the document is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint. Local files do not support Copilot comments features.

Copilot drafts a reply that does not match the comment

Copilot bases the draft on the comment text and the paragraph it references. If the comment is vague or contains typos, the draft may be inaccurate. Edit the comment text to be more specific, then click Draft a reply again. You can also select a different paragraph before clicking Draft a reply to change the context.

Copilot cannot resolve a comment after applying an edit

Copilot resolves a comment only when you click the Resolve comment button. If the button is grayed out, make sure you have applied the edit first. Some comment types, such as general suggestions without a specific text change, do not show the Apply suggested edit button. In that case, resolve the comment manually by right-clicking the comment and selecting Resolve comment.

Copilot Comments vs Manual Review: Key Differences

Item	Copilot Comments	Manual Review
Description	AI-powered summarization and reply drafting within the Copilot pane	Human reading, typing replies, and editing text directly
Time required	10–30 seconds per task	2–5 minutes per comment
Accuracy	Depends on comment clarity and context	High, but subject to human error
Cost	Requires Copilot for Microsoft 365 or Copilot Pro subscription	No additional cost
Availability	Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, Mac, and web	All Word versions

Copilot in Word comments saves time by summarizing feedback and drafting replies. The feature works best when comments are clear and the document is saved to a supported cloud location. Use the Summarize comments button to get an overview of all feedback before you start editing. Then use Draft a reply to handle individual comments. After you apply an edit, resolve the comment to keep the document clean. For best results, keep comments short and specific. Copilot cannot read handwritten notes or comments in images.