Microsoft made its legal skills generally available to commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot customers on October 15. One skill reviews an open contract against an organization's playbook in Word desktop. It extracts rules from a .docx playbook, shows them to the reviewer before running, then proposes findings and tracked edits. A legal professional still has to check the source language, the rule and each proposed change. Microsoft's announcement and Word instructions describe the workflow.

The big change

  • What: Microsoft's legal plugin in Word now includes a generally available playbook-based contract review skill for commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers.
  • How it works: The user supplies an approved .docx playbook, checks the rules Copilot extracts, runs the review and decides whether to insert each suggested edit as a Word tracked change.
  • Why it matters: The playbook and contract can be inspected together at the point of editing. Microsoft warns that findings and citations can still be wrong or incomplete, so legal review remains necessary.

This documentation-based guide is for a legal professional with permission to use both documents in Microsoft 365. BIG CHANGE has not run the feature or assessed its legal accuracy. The task is to produce a review that a lawyer can trace back to the contract and approved playbook, then decide which edits, if any, belong in the document.

Before opening the review

You need an active Microsoft 365 Copilot commercial license, Word desktop with the Legal plugin available, an accessible contract and an organization-approved playbook saved as .docx. Microsoft says the Legal plugin is enabled by default in Word desktop and that Copilot can detect a legal document. Access still depends on the user's account and organizational permissions. The cited support instructions do not specify a minimum Word build number. If the plugin or review skill does not appear, confirm the license, desktop client and plugin state with your Microsoft 365 administrator before relying on this procedure. Microsoft Support

Use only a contract and playbook cleared for this service by your organization and client. Check that the playbook is the approved version for this matter and jurisdiction. Microsoft's review skill currently takes a playbook, not a contract template or another reference document as a substitute. The announcement says Microsoft 365 prompts, responses and documents are processed within its service boundary, existing access controls and sensitivity labels apply, and the material is not used to train underlying foundation models. Those platform statements do not replace a firm's confidentiality and client-use rules. Microsoft Support Microsoft announcement

Run one contract review

  1. Open the contract in Word desktop and open Copilot. Keep the agreement in view so each later finding can be checked against its language. If the Legal plugin was turned off, open the three-dot menu in the Copilot sidebar, choose Manage plugins & skills, and turn Legal on. Microsoft Support
  2. Ask for a playbook review. Microsoft's documented example is “Review this contract using a playbook.” Send that request in the Copilot sidebar. Copilot should enter its contract review workflow and ask for the playbook. Microsoft Support
  3. Attach the approved .docx playbook. Use Upload file for a local file or Attach from Cloud to find it in Microsoft 365. Confirm that the selected document is the authorized playbook for this contract. Microsoft says Copilot then breaks the playbook into topics, rules and example clauses. Microsoft Support
  4. Inspect the extracted rules before running. Read the displayed topics and rules against the original playbook. Correct a missing, distorted or inapplicable rule before choosing Run Review. If the source playbook itself is wrong or out of date, stop and obtain the approved version. The review uses those extracted rules as its guide. Microsoft Support
  5. Run the review and trace the findings. Select Run Review. Microsoft says results appear by topic, with detailed analysis and the rules used. For each material finding, compare the contract wording behind it with the open document, then check the corresponding approved rule. Check relevant clauses the system did not flag as well: Microsoft says lengthy or complex documents can lead it to miss clauses or misapply guidance. Microsoft Support: instructions Microsoft Support: limitations
  6. Decide on each proposed redline. Where Copilot suggests an edit, read the proposed language in its contractual context. Accept inserts the suggestion as a tracked change; Dismiss leaves it out. The interface also offers Accept All, but individual review gives the lawyer a decision on each proposal. Check the final tracked-change list and negotiation history before sharing the document. Microsoft Support

The completion check is a contract in which retained findings have been traced to the actual clauses and approved rules, and every inserted tracked change has been reviewed by the responsible legal professional. A completed Copilot run or fluent explanation alone does not establish legal correctness. Microsoft's transparency documentation says its outputs are advisory, may cite inaccurately and are not jurisdiction-aware by default.

If the result is incomplete or the control is missing

If Copilot does not offer the review workflow, check the commercial license, Word desktop client, Legal plugin setting and organizational enablement with IT. If it cannot accept the reference document, confirm that it is the intended .docx playbook rather than a template or another file type. If extracted rules are wrong, correct them before running or restart with the approved playbook. Keep a doubtful finding or redline unaccepted until a qualified reviewer checks the underlying agreement, rule and applicable law. Microsoft cautions that complex documents, jurisdictional differences and recent legal changes can defeat a plausible answer. Microsoft Support: instructions Microsoft Support: limitations

Access, cost and release limits

The documented Word legal skills require a commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription. The cited pages do not give a separate price for the Legal plugin or a plan-specific fee, so confirm your organization's license terms and procurement cost. Microsoft announced general availability of its own legal capabilities on October 15; partner-built plugins were beginning a separate rollout, and a defined-terms navigation feature was still planned for preview later that month. Neither is required for this playbook review. This guide describes Microsoft's published procedure as checked on October 17, 2026; BIG CHANGE has not tested a tenant, Word build, document or output. Microsoft announcement Microsoft Support

Sources & further reading