How to write an email with AI

Coming up with the right words isn’t always easy. If you’re sending lots of emails, it can be time-consuming to create and compose each message—and all this time adds up. Luckily, Microsoft Edge can help streamline the email writing process with a built-in AI email writer. No matter what you’re writing or where you work, you can use Copilot in the Microsoft Edge sidebar, your personal and free AI email writer, to draft emails quickly and easily.

AI-powered Compose in Microsoft Edge sidebar

If you aren’t using Microsoft Edge’s sidebar functions yet, now would be a great time to start. On the right sidebar of your Microsoft Edge browser, you’ll find so many helpful built-in tools, including AI-powered Copilot. Select the Copilot icon in the upper-right corner of the sidebar to access three AI-powered tools rolled into one: Chat, Compose, and Insights. You might think of Compose as your personal email writing AI. (It can do much more than that, too!)

How to write an email in the Compose tab

One you’re in the Compose tab of Copilot in the Edge sidebar, choose the tone, format, and length of what you want written. One format choice is email, and you can ask it to be short, medium, or long. You can choose from five built-in tones—professional, casual, enthusiastic, informational, or funny—or you can write in another tone by selecting +. Finally, write a prompt that tells this AI email generator what the email should be about. Select Generate draft, and voila!

Email prompt tips

When you’re writing your email prompt, follow these tips to help AI write just what you need:

• Be specific. Include details like names, times, and locations. 
• Clarify the most important points. Consider the main point or points you want to get across, and make sure they are clearly expressed in your prompt.
• Provide structure. If this is an email that needs to follow a certain structure or is meant to convey a process of any kind, provide that in your prompt.
• Target your specific audience. If you know that your email audience has certain likes or dislikes, share that as well. If your email addressee is, say, a dog or cat lover, you might ask for one mention of their pet or something related to that passion.
• Set limits. If there are certain things that shouldn’t be mentioned, or likely topics, phrases, and ideas to avoid, give that direction, too!

With these tips, you’ll be giving your AI email generator great information to create a draft that’s ready to go or pretty close.

Tweaking the email draft

If you think the AI-generated email could be better, ask it to try again. You can select the button to Re-generate draft, which looks like a refresh symbol. Compose in Edge will also provide specific suggestions to change the draft. It may offer to, for example, change the subject line or make it more formal. You can also select + to add a custom suggestion. Keep at it until the email is just how you want it.

Microsoft Edge's AI-powered Compose tab in the Copilot pane in the Edge sidebar is a great tool to streamline the email-writing process and improve the quality of your communication. Try Microsoft Edge today to see all the ways built-in AI and other features can save you time and help you reach your goals.