To create an SOP with Copilot, record someone doing the process while they explain each step, get the transcript, then ask Copilot in Word to turn that transcript into a standard operating procedure with a prompt that sets the role, the task, the source and the sections you want. In the video above, it went from a blank document to a structured SOP with a title, purpose, tools, numbered steps and screenshot markers in a few minutes.
The person who knows the process does it once while talking it through, and they don’t have to write a word. I recorded this in July 2024, and two things have moved since: the video player that was called Stream now carries the Clipchamp name, and the way you reference a file in Copilot in Word has changed, which I point out in the steps.
Before you start
- Copilot in Word. It comes with a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and some Microsoft 365 plans include it too. Without the licence, see the Copilot Chat route further down.
- A recording with clear narration. Copilot only knows what was said. Narrate every click: “Now I open the Policies library, select Upload and pick the file”.
- Somewhere to keep the transcript. Save it in OneDrive or a SharePoint library so Copilot can reference it. A file on your desktop can’t be.
How do you create an SOP with Copilot in Word?
- Record the process. In my demo, it was uploading a policy to the Policies library and setting its metadata. Teams, the Clipchamp camera or any screen recorder will do, as long as the video ends up in OneDrive or SharePoint.
- Get the transcript. Open the video, select Video settings, expand Transcript and captions and select Generate if there isn’t one yet. In 2024 I downloaded it as a Word document. Today the download is a .vtt captions file, so paste its text into a Word document and save that in OneDrive or SharePoint. If the process was talked through in a Teams meeting with transcription on, download the transcript from the meeting’s recap instead.
- Open a blank Word document and open Copilot.
- Paste a structured prompt. Mine is below: the role, the task, the source, the output I expect and the instructions for building it.
- Reference the transcript. Type / where the source goes and pick the transcript file, or paste its link (select the file in the library, then Copy link). When I recorded this, the reference button only offered my three most recent files, so I pasted the link.
- Generate, then read the draft. In my demo, Copilot produced the four steps I’d asked for, filled each one with detail from the transcript and marked where a screenshot would help. It also left out the purpose section I’d asked for.
- Fix it with a follow-up prompt. I asked: “Can you please add a specific section for purpose with a heading at the start of the document.” The next version had a Purpose heading at the top. Then select Keep.
Here’s the prompt from the video, tidied up so you can adapt it:
Act as a world-class assistant to a CEO.
Task: Your job is to take the transcriptions of videos that outline specific processes for my business and convert each one into a clear, structured standard operating procedure (SOP).
Context: [type / and pick the transcript file, or paste its link]
Expected output:
- SOP title: Uploading and managing policies in the Policies library
- Purpose: [one or two sentences on why the process exists]
- Required tools and resources: web browser, access to the site and the Policies library
- Procedure:
1. Access the site
2. Access the Policies library
3. Upload or create the document in the Policies library
4. Set the metadata
Instructions: Based on the transcript, structure this into a clear step-by-step SOP that includes the title, purpose, and required tools and resources. Add any other tools or resources mentioned in the transcript. Write the steps in sequence, and mark where screenshots would help add context.
The four steps in the prompt are the skeleton. Copilot merged them with the detail in the transcript, so I got my structure with the specifics filled in. Leave the skeleton out and you get Copilot’s idea of an SOP, which won’t match the template your organisation already uses. It’s rule eight in my 10 Copilot prompting rules: give Copilot the headings to fill in.
Can you do this without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence?
Mostly, yes. In Copilot Chat, type / and pick the transcript from the Files tab, or upload it, then paste the same prompt. The SOP comes back in the chat, so copy it into Word. Using Copilot with your SharePoint and OneDrive files covers the ways of pointing Copilot at a file.
Who should record the process, and who signs it off?
The person who does the job should record it, because the transcript can only hold what they say. If they skip the step where they check a value in another system, so will the SOP. Copilot has no way of knowing the step exists.
Someone else should review the draft before it’s published, ideally by following it cold, the way a new starter would, which brings out the “obvious” steps an expert never says out loud. Then put the SOP in a SharePoint library with an owner and a review date as metadata columns, the way I set them up in adding metadata columns to a document library, so it’s clear who updates it when the process changes. Processes drift after the SOP is written, too, and comparing an SOP with how work really gets done shows how Copilot Cowork checks a procedure against the emails, chats and meetings around it.
If you write SOPs regularly, put your organisation’s template in the prompt. In one of my newsletters I used a five-part structure (purpose and scope, roles and responsibilities, process steps with decision points, quality checks, related documents) with an example section, so the output follows house style. Once the prompt works, save it as a SharePoint skill so nobody has to paste it again. And keep the recordings. A library of narrated processes can become SOPs, training material or FAQs whenever you need them.
Frequently asked questions
Can Copilot write an SOP from a Teams meeting recording? Yes, if transcription was on. Download the transcript from the meeting’s recap, save it in OneDrive or SharePoint and reference it in your prompt. Without a transcript there’s nothing for Copilot to read, so turn transcription on before you start walking through the process.
Can Copilot add the screenshots to the SOP? No. In my demo it marked where a screenshot would help, and the screenshots are yours to add. Capture them while you record, or pause the video at each marker.
Can I reuse the same prompt for other processes? Yes. Keep the role, task and instructions, and change the title, purpose and main steps. If the main steps aren’t clear yet, leave them out, ask Copilot to work them out from the transcript, then check them against the recording.
How long should the recording be? As long as the process takes to do once, at a normal pace, with every click narrated. Record each process separately so each transcript maps to one SOP. In my demo the process was four steps long.
