Reduce the size of a Word document using Microsoft 365 Copilot

Created by Gregory Boyle, Modified on Thu, 24 Sep at 4:12 PM by Gregory Boyle

Purpose

Microsoft 365 Copilot can reduce the size of a Word document by compressing the images stored inside it.

This can be useful when a document is too large to upload, email or share.

You will need:

Copilot creates a separate compressed copy, so the original document can be retained.

Select the Start button on the Windows taskbar.
Type Copilot in the search box, then select the Microsoft 365 Copilot app to open it. Copilot can be accessed from the Windows Start menu when the app is installed. [support.mi...rosoft.com], [support.mi...rosoft.com]
In Copilot Chat, enter the following prompt:
If I give you a Word document, can you compress all the images in it to make the file size smaller?
Send the prompt.
When Copilot confirms that it can process the document, select the Add content or attachment option and upload the Word document you want to reduce.
Send the document to Copilot.
Copilot will process the images and provide a new, compressed copy of the Word document.

Select the compressed Word document provided in Copilot’s response.
Download or save the file to your computer.
Open the compressed copy and check that the pictures and document layout still look correct.
Keep the original document until you are satisfied with the compressed version.

You will have a new copy of the Word document with a smaller file size.

For example, in our test, our document was reduced from 1.30 MB to 396 KB, approximately a 70% reduction, while retaining its 26-page layout.

The amount of space saved will vary depending on the images contained in the document.