Copilot Tip of the Week: Use Scheduled Prompts to Stay Ahead of Critical Updates
What if the updates you need each month could simply arrive for you?
During a recent Copilot working session, Nate Termaat shared a challenge that many knowledge workers face. His category work requires constant awareness of federal activity in areas like drones, robotics, and facilities automation. These policy shifts often influence sourcing strategy long before they appear on formal roadmaps.
Keeping up meant frequent manual searches, repeated check-ins, and unnecessary stress. Copilot’s scheduled prompts remove that burden.
The Skill: Scheduled Prompts
A scheduled prompt is a saved Copilot query that runs automatically on a schedule you choose, delivering updated results without requiring you to remember to ask.
Each time it runs, Copilot delivers a fresh update directly into the same Copilot Chat conversation where the prompt was created. Nate chose the 5th of each month as his delivery date. When the new result arrives, the conversation appears in bold, making it easy to spot when something new is ready.
From Manual Hunting to Monthly Intelligence
Before using scheduled prompts, Nate tracked important federal developments by hand, reviewing multiple sources and scanning for references that could impact contract planning in 2026. The work required time, attention, and repeated mental effort.
Once the scheduled prompt was in place, that changed. Nate no longer needed to remember to check anything. Copilot handles the research, summarizes what has changed, and presents the information at the moment he needs it. The process is consistent, reliable, and requires no additional setup from month to month.
As Nate put it during our session:
“I’m trying to stay ahead of the situation. This will be good. This is exactly what I need to stay current.”
The Prompt Nate Used
Nate used a scheduled prompt that runs automatically each month to monitor federal updates related to robotics policy and regulation.
Prompt Objective
Search FCC.gov for the latest updates related to Chinese robotics policy, compliance, and regulatory changes for the current year.
Search Query
Output Format
Copilot summarizes the findings using the following structure:
Executive Summary
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4–6 bullets highlighting the most significant actions, announcements, or regulatory changes
Detailed Items
For each relevant update:
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Title
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Date (if available)
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Key Points (3 concise bullets)
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Link (fcc.gov or docs.fcc.gov)
This structure gives Nate a fast, consistent way to scan for meaningful changes while preserving enough detail to dig deeper when needed.
The Impact
The scheduled prompt now provides Nate with:
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A reliable monthly scan that arrives without effort
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A consistent format for quick review
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More mental space for higher-value work
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Reduced risk of missing early signals in a fast-moving regulatory environment
Reducing Cognitive Load
Knowledge work is full of repetitive searches, check-ins, and mental reminders. Scheduled prompts reduce that cognitive load by shifting predictable information gathering to Copilot.
Instead of remembering what to look for each month, Copilot brings the information forward automatically. This allows employees to spend less time gathering inputs and more time interpreting insights, making decisions, and focusing on higher-value work.
It’s a simple way to let Copilot act as an assistant for tasks that would otherwise pull attention away from strategic thinking.
Try It Yourself
If you’re not sure where to start, think about areas in your work where information changes over time, but your need for awareness stays constant. A scheduled prompt may help if:
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You revisit the same research task weekly or monthly and want updates delivered automatically
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You prepare for recurring meetings or review cycles and want a summarized snapshot ahead of time
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You track updates from multiple sources and want them consolidated in one place
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You support projects, vendors, or initiatives that evolve over time
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You review policies, documents, or updates where having Copilot run the first pass would reduce manual effort
📘 Learn how to set up your own scheduled prompt using Microsoft’s official guide.
