Public servants juggle heavy workloads, ever-growing to-do lists and relentless admin. If you’ve ever wished for an extra pair of hands to help you power through your inbox or cross the finish line on a report-writing marathon, you’re not alone.

AI tools like Microsoft Copilot are already helping public servants across government write faster, plan better and manage their day with less stress.

That’s why thousands of public servants registered for Apolitical’s recent Hacks for Working with Copilot event to learn time-saving tricks for making Copilot work smarter.

We heard from experienced public servants Dr Alexandra Rodney, Senior Manager, Capacity and Change Management, Lean and Continuous Improvement Office, Government of Ontario and Iwin Nayak, Senior Manager, Cabinet Office, Government of Canada.

Here are the top takeaways from our expert speakers that got attendees thinking.

1. Turn on contextual memory to let Copilot remember you

Think of this as your personal assistant, keeping track of what matters. By switching on contextual memory in your settings, Copilot remembers helpful details like your role, goals, tone, and even recurring preferences.

This means no more re-explaining who you are or how you like your drafts written every time you open a new chat. Just don’t forget to review what it remembers so that you stay in control.

2. Use custom instructions to control your style

Tired of Copilot’s overenthusiastic bolding, emoji obsession or, dare we say it, too many em dashes? You can train it to behave better.

Add custom instructions like “Use plain text and avoid emojis” or “Keep responses concise and in a professional tone.” You can even preload accessibility or formatting preferences your team uses. It’s like setting house rules so your digital helper can achieve the right style for you.

3. Use notebooks to organise your AI brain

Copilot’s notebooks feature lets you group related files like spreadsheets, reports, policy notes and use them as the foundation for your prompts.

For example, if you’re drafting a policy options paper, you can drop in background evidence, stakeholder feedback, and fiscal data, then prompt Copilot to generate a draft in minutes.

With this tool, speakers reported time savings of up to 80–85% compared to manual work. That’s more time for actual thinking.

4. Schedule prompts to prep ahead of time

Want your AI to prep the day before you even open your laptop?

Try scheduled prompts. You can automate daily or weekly Copilot tasks. Summarise your calendar, draft email responses, or flag urgent messages so they arrive in your inbox ready to go.

5. Remember to stay smart and safe when using AI

Security and accuracy were hot topics in the chat. The speakers reminded everyone to check organisational policies first, especially around classified or sensitive data, and to always review outputs critically.

🎥 Watch, learn, and share

Missed the session or want to see these hacks in action? Watch the highlights video below, or explore the full recording and resources on the event page, including full speaker bios for Dr Alexandra Rodney and Iwin Nayak.

This article was written with the help of AI using an anonymised transcript and edited by a human before publishing.