Research with Copilot
Choose sources, add project context, and follow a research response.
Use Copilot to ask questions, work with project material, and follow up on an answer. Your selected workspace needs both Platform and Research Copilot access. Check the workspace before you start, especially when you belong to more than one.
Start a question
- Open Copilot Agent in the sidebar.
- Choose New Research, or select an existing chat from the sidebar.
- If the question concerns project work, select the project in the composer. Selecting a project turns Workspace on.
- Review the source controls below, write the question, and select Send message. You can also use Command+Enter on macOS or Ctrl+Enter on other systems.
- Follow the response and its progress. Open any linked file or artifact to check the material behind the answer before using it in your work.
Give Copilot a clear task and the result you want: for example, ask it to compare two named project documents and identify questions for your team. A project selection provides context; your question still needs to say what to do with it.
Choose the available tools
The composer shows Internet, Workspace, and Utilities. On a small screen, open the tools menu to reach these controls. Each control cycles through Auto, On, and Off; read the displayed state after changing it.
| Control | What it makes available |
|---|---|
| Internet | Web search and browsing for sources and ideas. |
| Workspace | Project files, artifacts, and organizational documents available to your account. |
| Utilities | Date and time tools and diagram exports. |
Set Response detail for the amount of detail you want, and Thinking depth for the reasoning setting. Wait for settings to finish saving before sending the next message.
Attach project files
- Select a project where you have contributor access or above.
- Choose Attach file to upload files or import a ZIP archive into that project.
- Wait for the upload to finish and check the attachment chips before sending.
- Keep Workspace on when Copilot needs to read those files.
If Attach file is disabled, first check the project selection and your project role. A Workspace off warning means that uploading a file does not make it readable by the AI for the response. Files shown in an answer can offer Preview file, an option to open in Drive, download, or copy their link. Check processing status if a newly uploaded file is not ready to read.
Continue or interrupt a response
During a response, sending another prompt adds it to the queue to run afterwards. Send options also offers Add to queue and, when available, Steer this response. Steering gives the running response an instruction at its next checkpoint.
Choose Stop generating to stop the current response. Review the queue as well if you no longer want later prompts to run. A stopped answer may be incomplete; read it before deciding whether to send a follow-up.
When a chat is unavailable
Use Retry if the chat list fails to load. Clear the chat search if the sidebar reports no matches. If access is missing, check the workspace and ask a workspace administrator to review its licenses and your access.
Changing workspace clears the selected chat and project context. Select the intended chat again in the new workspace. For sharing, exports, and chat history, see Manage research chats.