The AI revolution is well underway, having moved beyond back-end IT functions into the daily machinations of individual employees.
Yet amid a tough job market, performance-related job losses, and even AI itself presenting an existential threat to jobs, employees are constantly looking to optimize their use of technology.
While many gain prompts through conversations with colleagues or via trial and error, a new announcement from the CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies and leading AI innovators could seriously upskill their use of it.
Posting on LinkedIn, Satya Nadella—the architect behind Microsoft’s $3.7 trillion valuation and the executive who has positioned his company at the forefront of the AI revolution—announced that he uses the GPT-5 Copilot integration every day as it’s an integral part of his “everyday workflow.”
But more than just revealing his personal use, Nadella went a step further and shared the prompts he relies on to get his work done. Although a CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies may have wildly different priorities and responsibilities from the rest of us, the prompts Nadella recommends will undoubtedly show how to make the most of your Copilot investment.
Prompt 1: Contextual Meeting Preparation
Prompt: Based on my prior interactions with [/person], give me 5 things likely top of mind for our next meeting.
Meetings often waste time and create misaligned priorities. This prompt flips that dynamic by helping you walk in already prepared for what matters most.
For example, before a client renewal check-in, Copilot can search past conversations and surface the most relevant issues. Instead of reacting in real time, you arrive proactively informed. For busy executives, this may mean an edge in negotiations; for account managers, it provides the confidence of having answers at the ready.
Prompt 2: Comprehensive Project Intelligence
Prompt: Draft a project update based on emails, chats, and all meetings in [/series]: KPIs vs. targets, wins/losses, risks, competitive moves, plus likely tough questions and answers.
Manually piecing together updates from multiple sources is one of the most time-consuming managerial tasks. With GPT-5 Copilot, this prompt consolidates scattered emails, chats, and notes into a single narrative of progress and risks.
Imagine leading a cross-departmental initiative—you can instantly generate a report showing whether you’re meeting targets. Instead of being a glorified note-taker, Copilot acts as a consolidation engine, freeing time for analysis and decision-making rather than admin work.
Prompt 3: Predictive Launch Assessment
Prompt: Are we on track for the [Product] launch in November? Check eng progress, pilot program results, risks. Give me a probability.
By analyzing project documents and performance metrics, GPT-5 Copilot can generate a probability-based assessment of whether a launch (or any major deliverable) is on track.
Traditional dashboards often miss bottlenecks. With this prompt, a marketing director could assess campaign readiness, or a COO could apply it to supply chain milestones. Its value lies in converting vague updates into quantifiable likelihoods, enabling earlier interventions and avoiding last-minute crisis management.
Prompt 4: Time Allocation Analysis
Prompt: Review my calendar and email from the last month and create 5 to 7 buckets for projects I spend most time on, with % of time spent and short descriptions.
Time is currency, though most professionals don’t know exactly how they’re spending it.
This prompt functions like a personal time audit. By assessing calendars and emails, Copilot gives a clear breakdown of projects, how much time is going into each, and short descriptions of their focus.
That clarity can be eye-opening: Are you devoting most of your week to high-value strategic initiatives, or tied up in endless low-value meetings? For sales professionals, it can reveal whether relationship-building dominates their schedule. For founders, it might highlight whether product innovation time is being swallowed by operational tasks. With visibility comes smarter choices around delegation, prioritization, and restructuring.
Prompt 5: Meeting Intelligence and Preparation
Prompt: Review [/select email] + prep me for the next meeting in [/series], based on past manager and team discussions.
Professionals managing multiple projects face a high risk of mixing contexts. This prompt reconstructs the important details before you walk into a meeting.
Instead of manually scanning through email chains, GPT-5 Copilot can summarize prior decisions, unresolved tasks, and the tone of previous exchanges. For consultants, it provides instant recall of client commitments. For managers, it ensures continuity across multiple projects. The biggest value is simple—it reduces cognitive load, letting you engage fully in the present instead of scrambling to remember the past.
Maximizing Your AI Investment
These five prompts represent how AI can provide real workflow optimizations for similar tasks that occur across different companies and industries.
With GPT-5 Copilot being able to draw information from a suite of connected Microsoft offerings, the efficiencies it can bring to your workflow as a whole are greatly improved.
Yet, while the prompts demonstrate clear efficiency improvements, the fundamental factor separating surface-level AI users from those who fully integrate it is that they can take these examples and build upon them to fit their workflows.
As AI and Copilot evolve, Nadella’s playbook may be worth watching—not to mimic him directly, but to see how forward-thinking leaders weave AI into every part of their workflow.
