After publishing my previous blog on using Copilot to analyse your Risk & Issue Register, I received a familiar response: “This sounds great, but it doesn’t quite work like that where I am.” And that reaction is completely valid. Microsoft Copilot can help you analyse risks and issues (my example for Project Management – but relevant to Microsoft Lists in general) — but how it does that depends very much on:

  • Where Copilot is being used
  • What data it’s allowed to access
  • And how it’s licensed and configured

This blog is about closing the expectation gap, so teams understand what Copilot can realistically do with Microsoft Lists (Risk and Issue Registers), why it sometimes falls short, and how to choose the right approach without frustration.

Author’s note: With over 1 000 blogs published, there’s simply not enough time (or wine 🍷) to retroactively update older posts every time features change. I always try to clearly state which version I’m using, so you can easily research what may be new or different from the images or videos I’ve shared. All Copilot‑related blogs I write are based on the Microsoft 365 Copilot for Business add‑on license that I currently use.

The first thing to understand: conversation vs data

Not all Copilot experiences are the same. There’s a fundamental difference between:

  • Summarising conversations about risks, and
  • Querying the actual risk register data

Copilot is excellent at working with language:

  • Meeting discussions
  • Channel conversations
  • Written updates
  • Emails and documents

But analysing a structured Risk & Issue Register (Microsoft List) means working with:

  • Fields
  • Scores
  • Dates
  • Owners
  • Status values

Those are two very different things — and they require different Copilot capabilities.

What Copilot can do without special setup

When used in chats, meetings, or documents, Copilot can:

  • Summarise discussions about risks and issues
  • Extract action items from meetings
  • Draft status updates and reports
  • Reword risk descriptions or mitigations
  • Create executive‑friendly summaries

This works well because Copilot is analysing text — what people say and write about risk. That’s why many teams feel Copilot is helpful for:

  • Reporting
  • Communication
  • Meeting preparation

And it’s a great starting point.

Where things start to feel limited

The moment users ask questions like:

  • “Show me our top 10 risks by exposure score”
  • “Which risks are overdue?”
  • “How many issues are blocking delivery?”

Copilot suddenly feels less capable. That’s because those questions aren’t about conversation — they’re about data.

And querying structured data requires Copilot to:

  • Understand list fields
  • Filter and sort data
  • Count, group, and compare items

This is where licensing and configuration start to matter.

Why querying a Risk Register isn’t “automatic”

A Risk & Issue Register stored in a Microsoft List or SharePoint list is structured data.

For Copilot to query that data directly, it needs:

  • Permission to access the list
  • A way to understand the schema (columns, values, rules)
  • An experience designed to query data, not just summarise text

That capability typically comes through Copilot agents — not standard chat alone.

This isn’t a flaw. It’s intentional design:

  • Microsoft separates reading conversations from acting on systems of record
  • Structured data needs tighter governance and control
  • Especially when it influences reporting or decision‑making

The most common misunderstanding

Many users assume: “If Copilot can see the list, it should just work.” But seeing data and querying data are not the same. Copilot will never guess how important a field is, or what business logic to apply. That logic has to be designed — responsibly.

Licensing patterns (without the SKU soup 🤣)

In Microsoft licensing, SKU simply stands for Stock Keeping Unit — it’s the unique identifier Microsoft uses to define a specific license or product offering. Rather than focusing on exact license names, it’s more useful to think in patterns.

Pattern 1: Power users (PM / PMO / Project Leads)

  • These users work with risk registers daily
  • They prepare reports and lead reviews
  • They benefit most from deeper Copilot integration

For this group, licensing Copilot (add-on) more fully makes sense:

  • Predictable access
  • Richer querying capability
  • Clear value for decision‑making roles

Pattern 2: Broader team access

  • Team members may want to ask simple questions
  • Self‑service insight becomes valuable
  • Costs and governance matter more

In these cases, organisations often:

  • Introduce agents that query the register
  • Enable usage gradually
  • Monitor consumption and adoption

This approach trades simplicity for reach.

Pros and cons — honestly

✅ Pros

  • Powerful insight from existing project data
  • Reduced manual reporting effort
  • Better‑prepared conversations with stakeholders
  • Less time spent “fiddling with filters”

⚠️ Cons / realities

  • Requires clean, well‑maintained data
  • Needs governance and design
  • Not everything works everywhere (yet)
  • Consumption‑based agents add complexity
  • Some experiences work best 1:1 before being shared

None of these are deal‑breakers — but they do need to be understood.

Copilot is powerful, but it isn’t magic. It can only work with the data it’s given, and clean, well‑maintained data is what turns Copilot from “interesting” into genuinely useful. When data is outdated, inconsistent, or incomplete, Copilot doesn’t fix it, it simply reflects it back, faster. Great AI results don’t start with better prompts; they start with better data habits. If we want Copilot to deliver meaningful insight, we have to meet it halfway.

One important reality about Teams channels

Many people want to ask Copilot questions directly in a project channel. This might motivate having your Risk & Issue Register in a separate channel vs in the 09 Project Control and Meetings Channel as stated in the previous blog.

Today, the most reliable pattern is often:

  1. Query the register via Copilot (or an agent) in a focused chat
  2. Share the generated summary back into the channel

It’s one extra step — but it ensures:

  • Accuracy
  • Security
  • Trust in the output

How to choose the right approach

If you’re deciding where to start, consider:

  • Who really needs data‑level insight?
  • How mature is your risk data today?
  • Do you want depth for a few, or light access for many?

My advice: Design Copilot for your use cases — not for the demo.

  • Start with one register.
  • One team.
  • One rhythm of use.

Prove value, then scale intentionally.

Closing thought

Copilot is not a magic reader of everything everywhere. It’s a powerful assistant, when it’s:

  • Properly licensed
  • Thoughtfully configured
  • Aligned to real business needs

When it comes to Risk & Issue Registers (Microsoft Lists), Copilot works best when we respect both:

  • The opportunity it brings, and
  • The boundaries that keep data trustworthy

If you get that balance right, Copilot becomes less of a novelty — and more of a genuine project partner.

Next up


As soon as teams start asking Copilot to work directly with Microsoft Lists, especially when they want filtered, grouped, or prioritised insights, the conversation naturally shifts toward Copilot Studio, custom agents, and cost. That topic deserves more than a passing paragraph. In a follow‑up post, I’ll explore what building agents actually means from a licensing, consumption, and governance perspective, so you can make informed decisions before moving beyond experimentation.

I’ll also create follow-up, more detailed blogs with custom videos on how to create the Project Management Team & Channels plus preferred configuration and settings and then how to create that Microsoft List for your Risk & Issue Register (and include some cool rules you setup to get notified on certain statuses).

Microsoft Resources:

Other Copilot related blogs I’ve written:

Copilot Adoption, Tech Readiness & Licensing:

Copilot Prompts and Learning:

Project Management:

“Build confidence, boost creativity, and let Copilot do the heavy lifting. Your journey from beginner to brilliant starts with one good prompt. SuperZero to SuperHero in no time!”

Spoiler Alert!! I use Copilot to create my Blog Thumbnails and help fact check my articles / shorten / summarise paragraphs where needed. I also use Napkin.AI to create any infographics I use. Of course I can create my own images, and I ROCK at PowerPoint, but with Copilot I can do SO MUCH MORE, SO MUCH FASTER! I’ve always wanted an assistant, now I do. #WinningAtLife

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