Asking Microsoft Copilot to explain the fundamentals of SharePoint.

Copilot is upon us #linkedin and I am lucky enough to have access to Copilot in a Sandbox environment thanks to the amazing MVP Community. This allows me to bring you value in return ??

Now explaining the fundamentals of #SharePoint to people that have never used SharePoint before can be challenging.

After a comment and request from a previous post here (https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/danielando_linkedin-copilot-microsoftword-activity-7145383006730338304-o2SS?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop), I decided to put Microsoft Copilot to the test and see how it went starting a document that would do just that:

Write an outline of the fundamentals of SharePoint, with a little bit of refining to also include a common what to use when question "When should you use a Communications Site and when should you use a Team Site".

While the output is a good start, always remember to check it to ensure that it is correct and reads well.

So how did I get to the result? With the below 2 prompts.

Here is the first:

"You are a Senior SharePoint Consultant, can you please write a document about the fundamentals of SharePoint. Specifically explaining key peices of terminology like Communication Sites, Team Sites, Hub Sites, Document Libraries and Webparts. The audience that you are writing for are business users that have not had any experience with SharePoint"

Prompt number 2 is show below. I wanted to give some examples of when you use a Communication Site vs a Team Site:

"Can you know add to the document and explanation of when you would use a Communication Site and when you would use a Team Site and also give a few examples of each"

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a cloud-based platform that allows you to create, share, and manage content, data, and applications. SharePoint helps you collaborate with your colleagues, communicate with your customers, and streamline your business processes.

SharePoint is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of products, which means you can access it from any device and integrate it with other Microsoft applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook.

What are the main components of SharePoint?

SharePoint consists of several components that help you organize and manage your content and data. Some of the most important components are:

• Communication Sites: These are sites that you can use to broadcast information to a large audience, such as news, announcements, events, or reports. Communication sites are designed to be visually appealing and easy to navigate. You can customize your communication sites with different layouts, themes, and web parts.
• Team Sites: These are sites that you can use to collaborate with your team members on projects, tasks, documents, or data. Team sites are connected to Microsoft Teams, which means you can chat, call, and meet with your team from within SharePoint. You can also customize your team sites with different web parts, lists, libraries, and apps.
• Hub Sites: These are sites that you can use to connect and organize related communication sites and team sites. Hub sites help you create a consistent look and feel across your sites, as well as share common navigation, search, and news. You can also manage permissions and settings for your hub sites and associated sites.
• Document Libraries: These are collections of files that you can store, share, and manage in SharePoint. Document libraries allow you to upload, download, edit, and co-author documents with your colleagues. You can also sync your document libraries with your OneDrive, which means you can access your files offline and on any device.
• Web Parts: These are reusable components that you can add to your sites to display content, data, or functionality. Web parts can be text, images, videos, charts, maps, forms, calendars, and more. You can arrange and configure web parts to create dynamic and interactive pages.

How can you get started with SharePoint?

If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can access SharePoint from any web browser or mobile device. You can also download the SharePoint app from the Microsoft Store or the App Store.

To get started with SharePoint, you can follow these steps:

• Create or join a communication site or a team site, depending on your purpose and audience.
• Add and edit pages to your site and customize them with web parts.
• Create and manage document libraries, lists, and apps to store and organize your content and data.
• Share your site with your colleagues, customers, or external partners, and control their access and permissions.
• Connect your site to a hub site, if applicable, to align it with your organizational structure and goals.
• Explore the features and settings of SharePoint and learn more from the SharePoint help center and community.

When should you use a communication site or a team site?

The choice between a communication site or a team site depends on your objective and audience. Here are some guidelines to help you decide:

• Use a communication site when you want to inform or engage a large and diverse group of people, such as your entire organization, a department, or a community. For example, you can use a communication site to share news, updates, reports, or events with your employees, customers, or stakeholders.
• Use a team site when you want to collaborate or coordinate with a small and specific group of people, such as your project team, your workgroup, or your committee. For example, you can use a team site to work on documents, tasks, data, or apps with your team members, partners, or vendors.

Some examples of communication sites are:

• A company intranet site that provides corporate information, policies, and resources to all employees.
• A marketing site that showcases the latest products, campaigns, and customer feedback to the sales team and the public.
• A learning site that offers courses, tutorials, and quizzes to learners and instructors.

Some examples of team sites are:

• A project site that tracks the progress, deliverables, and issues of a project team.
• A department site that stores the documents, calendars, and contacts of a workgroup.
• A research site that collects and analyzes data, surveys, and reports from a research team.

What do you think? ??

Now if you made it this far then you might be liking the content? If so then you will really enjoy the new weekly email that is getting distributed to over 2000 others. It's called The Copilot Studio and you can get the next edition free at thecopilotstudio.com