Use Outlook AI to Draft Risk Communication Emails

What This Does

Copilot in Outlook helps you draft the routine but delicate emails that risk work requires — stakeholder follow-ups, risk finding notifications, regulatory inquiry responses, and escalation communications — with the right tone and structure.

Before You Start

• You have Outlook open (desktop or web at outlook.office365.com)
• You're signed in with a Microsoft 365 account that includes Copilot
• You know who you're writing to and why

Steps

1. Start a new email and open Copilot

Click New Email. In the email composition window, look for the Copilot icon (a spark symbol) in the toolbar above the email body. Click it, then select Draft with Copilot.

2. Describe the email you need

In the Copilot prompt box, describe what you want:

• "Write a professional email to the Head of Retail Banking asking them to complete the overdue RCSA questionnaire. It's 10 business days past the deadline. The data is needed for the Risk Committee meeting on [date]. Tone: firm but collegial."
• "Draft an email to the CFO summarizing three key risk findings from the Q1 assessment, with a request for a 30-minute meeting to discuss remediation options."
• "Write a response to an external auditor asking for documentation on our model validation process. We can provide the Model Governance Policy and the last two validation reports."

Select the Formal tone option from the Copilot panel if appropriate.

3. Review and send

Copilot inserts a draft into the email body. Read it carefully — add specific details (exact deadlines, names, file attachments), adjust any language that doesn't match your relationship with the recipient, then send.

Real Example

Scenario: The Operations team hasn't responded to three separate requests for their Q1 control evidence package, needed for the internal audit next week.

What you type: "Draft a professional but firm escalation email to the Chief Operating Officer noting that the Operations team hasn't responded to three requests over two weeks for their Q1 control evidence. The internal audit starts Monday. I need the materials by Thursday EOD. I am copying the Head of Internal Audit on this email."

What you get: A clear, professional escalation email that explains the situation, the business impact, and the specific request — without sounding passive-aggressive.

Tips

• Use the Coaching feature (also in the Copilot menu) to review emails you've already drafted — it scores your tone, clarity, and persuasiveness and suggests improvements
• For sensitive risk communications (regulatory findings, significant loss events), draft in Copilot but rewrite the key sentences yourself — AI may soften language that needs to be direct
• Keep a personal file of email drafts that worked well — they become better prompts for future Copilot requests

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.