# SharePoint Autofill Columns: Let Your Library Fill In Its Own Metadata > Save a prompt on a SharePoint column once and every new file gets its metadata filled in from its own content. Setup, testing, column types and the limits. - URL: https://www.danielanderson.io/articles/sharepoint-autofill-columns/ - Author: Daniel Anderson, Microsoft MVP (https://www.danielanderson.io/) - Published: 2026-09-22 - Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uA-8TaPPC8 ## Key takeaways - An autofill column saves a prompt against a SharePoint library column, and every newly uploaded file is read and the answer written into that column automatically. - You can write the prompt yourself or use the one Copilot in SharePoint suggests, then test it against files in the library before you save. - Files already in the library need a manual run from Autofill columns, then Autofill, and an edited file only updates when it's reprocessed. - Person or Group, Location, Image and Lookup columns can't be autofilled. - In my demo, 14 invoices uploaded after testing came through with vendor, dates, amounts and order details filled in, with no chat involved. Autofill columns let a SharePoint document library fill in its own metadata. You save a prompt on a column once, and every file uploaded after that is read and the answer is written into the column, without anyone opening Copilot or typing a value. A viewer asked me whether they could build an "automated skill" in SharePoint that reads each new file and populates the metadata without starting a Copilot chat. For that job, an autofill column is the answer. It runs on upload, and newly uploaded files are processed whether or not the person uploading has a Copilot licence. ## How do you turn on autofill for a SharePoint column? In the deep dive I built an invoices library with columns for invoice date, due date, vendor name, order details and amount. For each one I opened **Edit column**, switched on the autofill toggle and gave it a prompt. You've got two ways to write that prompt. You can write your own: for invoice date I asked it to review the uploaded file, find the date the document states as the invoice date and populate the column. Or you can start with the one Copilot in SharePoint drafts for you. Once there's a document in the library, it suggests a prompt based on the column type and the content. For vendor name it suggested extracting the vendor name, identifying the business or entity issuing the invoice, with an output format spelled out. I used it as it was. Test before you save. The edit panel runs the prompt against files in the library (up to 10) and shows you the result. My invoice date came back as 1 September 2026 and the amount as $1,375, both matching the invoice when I opened it. Saved autofill columns get a small icon next to the column name, so you can tell at a glance which ones are doing the work. ## What happens when you upload new files? After testing on one invoice, I dragged another 14 into the library, and every one came through with vendor name, amount, invoice date, due date and order details filled in from its own document. The "Created" in the Status column came from a default value I'd set on the choice column. Files that were already in the library when you saved the prompt aren't picked up on their own. Select them, choose **Autofill columns**, then **Autofill** from the command bar, and watch progress under **Autofill columns**, then **View autofill activity**. The same goes for edits: if someone changes a document, the column only reflects the change once the file is reprocessed, and that's a manual step. ## Which column types can autofill populate? Text, Multiple lines of text, Number, Yes/No, Date and time, Choice, Hyperlink, Currency and Managed metadata. Person or Group, Location, Image and Lookup aren't supported, which is why I left the payment contact column alone in the demo. A few more limits to plan around: - **Columns and file size.** Microsoft recommends no more than 10 autofill columns per library and files no larger than 65 pages. - **Managed metadata.** Only the first 100 terms of the mapped term set are used. If a synonym matches, the preferred term is saved. - **Long text.** Text columns default to 255 characters. For summaries, edit the column, open **More options** and set **Allow unlimited length** to **Yes**. - **Encrypted files** aren't analysed and can show as not processed. - **Sites.** Hub sites and the primary site of a site collection are supported. Subsites aren't. - **Folders.** Copilot in SharePoint processes files, not folders, and the configuration applies to the whole library. My viewer asked about uploads into folders, and I didn't test that in this video. ## Can Copilot suggest the columns for you? Yes. Open Copilot in SharePoint from the icon in the lower-right corner of the library and pick **Create autofill columns** from the quick actions. It looks at up to 20 recent files (or only the ones you've selected) and suggests columns with their prompts already written. The first time you use it in a library it suggests up to three. You can edit or remove each one, then choose **Save changes** and decide whether to update the current view or save a new one. I recorded this a year earlier, when the feature was called the Knowledge Agent and the button read "Organise this library". It's now part of Copilot in SharePoint and the flow is much the same. On ten invoices it suggested invoice number, total amount and due date, wrote the prompts (including "if not found return not found") and filled the columns. With those columns in place, a question about invoices over $2,000 with a status of New came back from the metadata as invoices 2, 4 and 10. Video: Auto-Fill Document Library Metadata with Copilot (recorded when this was called the Knowledge Agent) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVezKve9zA Filtering like that is the bigger reason I'd use autofill. Once the information sits in columns, Copilot can filter on it, which I cover in [turning SharePoint into a Copilot knowledge base with metadata](https://www.danielanderson.io/articles/sharepoint-copilot-knowledge-base-metadata/). ## Decide what each column means before you write the prompt Each autofill prompt is really a definition of the column, so write the definition first. "Find the date" leaves room for interpretation when your invoice has an invoice date, a due date and maybe a delivery date. The same goes for an invoice total and an outstanding balance. My first test invoice had the same figure for both, so it didn't prove the prompt could tell them apart. I'd test that on a part-paid invoice before relying on the column. So before I touch the toggle, I write down three things for each column: which value I want, the format it should come back in, and what to return when it isn't in the document. The Knowledge Agent's "if not found return not found" is a good habit to copy, because a blank and a wrong guess look very different in a view. Then I test against a handful of files with different layouts, including at least one that's missing the value. I'm also choosy about which columns get a prompt at all. Each one has to be something you'll filter or sort on. A due date earns its place because you can build a view of what's due this week, and a supplier name brings related files together. Microsoft recommends 10 autofill columns per library at most, and I'd usually stop well short of that. Keep in mind the output is only ever a value in a column. If you want an email when a due date gets close, that's a rule on top of the column, which I cover in [replacing SharePoint alerts with rules](https://www.danielanderson.io/articles/sharepoint-alerts-retirement-rules/). And if you're working out which columns a library needs in the first place, [SharePoint folders vs metadata](https://www.danielanderson.io/articles/sharepoint-folders-vs-metadata/) and the free [Copilot-ready library checklist](https://www.danielanderson.io/checklist) are where I'd start. ## Frequently asked questions **Does the person uploading a file need a Copilot licence for autofill to work?** No. Once the prompts are saved, every new file added to the library is processed regardless of the uploader's licence. That processing is covered by Copilot licensing, so new files aren't charged at a pay-as-you-go rate even when the library is connected to a pay-as-you-go meter. **What is Advanced Autofill in SharePoint?** It uses Copilot Credits to process documents faster when you need more capacity, and it's only available to organisations that have turned on usage-based billing for Copilot in SharePoint. A site admin turns it on under **Settings**, **Site AI**, then **Share credits for advanced autofill columns**. If credits run out, autofill falls back to the capacity included with Microsoft 365 Copilot licences. **Do autofill columns work in SharePoint lists?** No. Copilot in SharePoint configures autofill on document libraries only, and the Site Pages, Site Assets, Style Library and form template libraries aren't supported. **Does autofill work on documents that aren't in English?** Your prompts can be in any language Copilot supports, but the current Copilot in SharePoint documentation says files can only be processed in English. If your library holds documents in other languages, test a few before you roll it out. **Who can create or change an autofill prompt?** Only people with sufficient permissions on the library can create or edit autofill prompts, and an admin can turn the service off for a site or the whole tenant.