WorkIQ (Public Preview) lets Copilot query Microsoft 365 data with natural language. It supports schedules, documents, Teams messages, email threads, follow-up tracking, stakeholder summaries, and more. Use this skill whenever a task needs live organizational intelligence beyond the local repository.
Supported Data & Sample Prompts
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Emails – “Summarize emails from Sarah about the budget.”
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Meetings – “What are my upcoming meetings this week?”
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Documents – “Find recent documents about Q4 planning.”
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Teams – “Summarize messages in the Engineering channel today.”
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People/Projects – “Who is working on Project Alpha?”
Getting Access
- Copilot CLI plugin (preferred)
copilot
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/plugin marketplace add github/copilot-plugins -
/plugin install workiq@copilot-plugins -
Restart Copilot CLI.
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Standalone CLI / MCP server
npm install -g @microsoft/workiq (or npx -y @microsoft/workiq mcp).
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Run
workiq mcpto expose MCP tools if needed. -
Tenant consent
First use prompts for Microsoft 365 admin consent (EULA + permissions). Non-admins must contact tenant admin to approve per the Tenant Administrator Enablement Guide.
Pre-flight Checklist
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Run
Get-Command workiqto ensure the binary is available. -
Accept the EULA once via
workiq accept-eula. -
Confirm the correct tenant (
-t <tenant-id>if different from defaultcommon). -
Be ready to complete device login in the browser when prompted.
Core Workflow
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Clarify intent – agenda, action items, document lookup, people search, risk summary, etc.
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Craft precise prompt – include timeframe, source, or topic (e.g., “Summarize Teams posts in #eng for today”).
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Run command –
workiq ask --question "<prompt>"(use-qfor shorthand if desired). -
Monitor execution – long answers may stream; wait for the response to finish before issuing additional requests.
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Summarize & redact – highlight insights, note conflicts/tasks, avoid pasting raw links unless required.
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Offer follow-ups – blocking time, drafting notes, deeper queries, etc.
Command Reference
| workiq --help
| Show global options.
| workiq version
| Display installed version.
| workiq accept-eula
| Accept license (first use).
| workiq ask
| Interactive mode.
| workiq ask --question "..."
| Ask a specific question (use -q shorthand if preferred).
| workiq ask -t <tenant> -q "..."
| Target a specific tenant.
| workiq mcp
| Start MCP stdio server (expose WorkIQ tools to other agents).
Prompt Patterns
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Agenda: “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?”
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Action items: “Summarize follow-ups from today’s customer sync.”
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Documents: “List PowerPoints about Contoso FY26 roadmap.”
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Communications: “What did my manager say about the deadline?”
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Insights: “What blockers came up in the last three meetings?”
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Planning: “Suggest focus blocks for Tuesday afternoon.”
Response Guidelines
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Keep summaries concise (2–3 sentences) calling out load, priorities, blockers, and optional next steps.
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Refer to meetings/documents generically unless the user specifically needs links.
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Mention if WorkIQ can continue (e.g., “WorkIQ can show Thu–Sun if needed”).
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Map WorkIQ’s suggested actions to clear offers (block time, send follow-up, request recording, run deeper query).
Best Practices
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Prefer narrow prompts to reduce noise; run multiple queries if needed.
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Combine outputs logically (agenda + conflicts + action items) before responding.
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Respect privacy: do not expose attendee lists or confidential snippets unless explicitly requested.
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Log which commands were run so future steps can reference them (“Asked WorkIQ for agenda + conflicts”).
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Use MCP mode (
workiq mcp) when another agent/workflow needs direct tool access.
Troubleshooting
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Missing CLI – install via npm or ensure PATH is set; notify user if unavailable.
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Consent/auth errors – re-run command after admin grants permissions or after completing device login.
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Long/incomplete output – rerun with refined scope or ask for specific data slices (per day/project/person).
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Command hanging – cancel the running command in your terminal (for example, with Ctrl+C) or restart the Copilot CLI session, then retry; ensure browser login completed.
Follow-up Actions to Offer
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Block focus/overflow holds at suggested times.
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Draft reschedule/decline messages referencing WorkIQ guidance.
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Request recordings or summaries for overlapping sessions.
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Capture action items into task trackers.
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Run additional WorkIQ queries (by project, stakeholder, time range) for deeper analysis.