Use Microsoft Copilot in Word to Review a Redlined Contract

What This Does

With Copilot turned on inside Word, you can ask it to read a document's tracked changes and summarize what actually shifted, in the same window you already review redlines in. There's no exporting the document or retyping the changes into a separate tool to get a plain-language rundown.

Before You Start

• Your Microsoft 365 plan includes Copilot. It's bundled into some business and premium tiers and sold as an add-on for others, so check with your organization's IT contact or your own account settings, or Microsoft's current pricing page, to confirm you have it
• The document has Track Changes turned on and the redlines are visible (Review tab, Track Changes)
• You have the contract open, ideally the version showing the other side's edits

Steps

1. Open the redlined contract and find Copilot

With tracked changes visible, look for the Copilot icon. Microsoft has moved this between the ribbon and a side panel across recent releases, so check both the Home ribbon and a panel icon near the edge of the window if it isn't where you last saw it.

2. Ask for a plain-language summary of the changes

Type something like: "Summarize the tracked changes in this document and flag anything that shifts risk, liability, or payment terms." Copilot reads the redlines rather than the whole document from scratch, so the summary should focus on what actually moved.

3. Check the flagged clauses against the original language

Open each flagged section and compare Copilot's description to the actual redline yourself. Confirm which clause it refers to and the direction of the change, who gained an obligation and who gave one up, before you rely on the summary in a note back to the client.

Real Example

Scenario: Opposing counsel returns a 12-page commercial lease with two dozen tracked changes, mostly formatting but a few substantive.

What you type: "Summarize the tracked changes in this lease and flag anything that shifts risk, liability, or payment terms."

What you get: A short list, something like an indemnification clause narrowed to exclude the landlord's own negligence, and a late fee percentage increased in a different section, pointing you to the two or three redlines worth a close read instead of treating all two dozen equally.

Tips

• Ask Copilot to compare the redline against your firm's standard clause language too, if you have it pasted into the same file or a linked document, rather than describing the change in isolation.
• Use the summary to triage, not to skip reading. Read every flagged clause in full before responding to opposing counsel.
• On a long contract, ask section by section, "summarize changes in Article 5 only," since a whole-document summary can smooth over a small but important wording shift.

Contract terms often qualify as confidential business information, sometimes under an NDA the client signed with the other party. Before running a sensitive deal through Copilot, confirm whether your organization's Microsoft 365 tenant settings exclude Copilot inputs from being used to train Microsoft's models, which is typically true on qualifying commercial plans but worth verifying for your specific setup, and check that the deal's confidentiality terms allow processing the document through any AI feature at all.

Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar Copilot or AI options in the ribbon or a side panel.