Rapidly update a regulatory guidance document

Step 1: Identify exactly what changed in the regulationWord

Read the actual regulatory text (not a news summary of it) and write down the specific section number, effective date, and precisely what's newly required that wasn't before.

This becomes the exact scope Copilot works from in step 2, so vagueness here is what leads to either missed updates or edits that drift beyond what's actually required.

Step 2: Ask Copilot to propose the edits with tracked changesCopilot

Give it both documents and have it draft the specific edits needed to bring the internal guidance in line, using Word's tracked changes so every edit is visible and attributable.

Prompt idea:

Compare our internal data-retention guidance document against this new regulatory requirement effective January. Propose tracked-change edits to bring our guidance into compliance, and list each change with a one-line explanation of why it was needed.

Step 3: Have compliance or legal review every tracked changeWord

Nothing gets accepted into the final document without a compliance or legal reviewer confirming each edit actually satisfies the new requirement — this is not a document to auto-publish.

Step 4: Publish with a clear change summaryWord

Once approved, publish the updated guidance with a short summary of what changed and the effective date, so anyone who relies on the document knows what's different from the version they may already know.

Check the work

• Confirm every proposed edit is actually required by the new regulation, not an over-correction that adds unnecessary restrictions.
• Verify the effective date and any transition period in the guidance matches the regulation exactly.
• Check that no unrelated section of the guidance was inadvertently altered in the edit pass.

Source: Microsoft Copilot Scenario Library — Finance (2026)