Personalize Copilot with memory and custom instructions

  • 5 minutes

Writing an effective prompt is about giving Copilot Chat the right context — but you don't have to repeat yourself every time. Copilot Chat includes personalization features that let Chat remember who you are, how you work, and what you prefer, so every prompt builds on a foundation of context Chat already has.

Custom instructions

Custom instructions are a one-time setup that tells Chat how you want it to respond across all your conversations. Think of them as a standing brief: you describe your role, communication preferences, or any recurring context you'd otherwise include in every prompt.

For example, you might tell Chat:

"I'm a project manager. Keep responses concise and use bullet points. Avoid technical jargon."

Once saved, those preferences apply automatically to every conversation. You no longer need to add "be concise" or "use bullet points" to individual prompts — Chat already knows.

To set custom instructions, open your Chat settings, look for Personalization, and select Custom instructions. Enter your preferences and save.

Tip

Think about what you currently repeat in every prompt — your role, your audience, your preferred format. Move those standing details into custom instructions so your prompts can stay focused on the task itself.

Copilot memory

Copilot memory allows Chat to remember relevant details from your conversations and apply them in future interactions. Rather than starting from scratch each time, Chat has context already in place.

Chat builds memory in two ways:

  • Saved memories — when Chat detects something worth remembering from your conversation, it may prompt you to save it. You can also proactively tell Chat to remember something by including it in your prompt, for example: "Remember that I prefer Excel over PowerPoint for reporting."
  • Chat history inferences — patterns and preferences Chat recognizes from your previous conversations and uses to improve future responses

Over time, Chat becomes a more effective assistant because it understands your context without being told each time.

Note

Copilot memory is available to Copilot Chat users with and without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Personalization and memory are in preview, and your organization's admin controls whether these features are available. If you don't see personalization options in your settings, contact your IT administrator.

Manage memories and instructions

Your memories are yours to control. From your Chat settings under Personalization, you can:

  • View saved memories — see what Chat has stored about you
  • Delete a specific memory — remove a detail you no longer want Chat to use
  • Turn off chat history — stop Chat from using past conversations to personalize future responses
  • Update or clear custom instructions — revise your standing preferences as your role or needs change

Important

Deleting a conversation doesn't remove memories saved from that conversation — delete them directly from your personalization settings. Turning off saved memories stops Chat from adding new ones, but doesn't delete existing memories. Use Delete all memories to fully clear what Chat has stored.

Start a temporary chat

Sometimes you want a fresh, neutral response without Chat drawing on your saved memories or past conversations. For those moments, you can start a temporary chat.

In a temporary chat:

  • Chat doesn't access your saved memories or custom instructions
  • The conversation doesn't appear in your chat history and can't be referenced later by you or Chat
  • No memories are saved from the session

To start a temporary chat, look for the Start a new temporary chat option in Chat.

Important

Temporary chat data may still be retained according to your organization's data retention policy and could be accessible by your IT administrator during that period.

Together, custom instructions and Copilot memory provide a personalized starting point for your prompts.