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Classify requests and route users to the right free M365 Copilot capability.
Copy the install command and let the AI configure it · recommended for beginners
Please install the "what-to-use-when" skill from askskill: 1. Download https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/cat-agent-skills/main/submissions/what-to-use-when/SKILL.md 2. Save it as ~/.claude/skills/what-to-use-when/SKILL.md 3. Reload skills and tell me it's ready
User says: Please summarize my unread emails from the past week. First determine whether this is a single-output task that a free M365 Copilot capability can handle; if so, recommend the right 1P option and only continue in Cowork if I insist.
It classifies the request as an email-summary task, recommends Copilot Chat, and offers Cowork only if the user insists.
User says: Create a product roadmap presentation for me. Before any retrieval, reasoning, or file generation, first decide whether I should be guided to a free Word/Excel/PowerPoint or another 1P agent.
It stops first, classifies the task as a single-output request suited for a 1P capability, and recommends the free option instead of generating the deck in Cowork.
User says: Schedule a meeting with the marketing team tomorrow at 3 PM. First check whether this skill applies; if it is a direct M365 action, do not use this routing flow.
It identifies the request as a direct action, skips classification and routing, and hands it back to the normal execution path.
When office workers want quick recaps of email, meetings, or Teams messages, this skill routes them to free Copilot Chat first to avoid extra Cowork usage. It fits single-output requests such as summaries and catch-up questions.
For requests like drafting a document or creating a presentation or spreadsheet, this skill intercepts first and recommends the appropriate Microsoft 1P capability instead of generating files immediately. This helps users prefer capabilities already included in their license.
If the user is asking to send email, schedule a meeting, post to Teams, or create a calendar event, this skill should not fire. It is for routing content-generation and information-lookup requests, not replacing normal action execution.
The document describes a gating skill designed to reduce Cowork credit usage. Before any retrieval, reasoning, task creation, or file generation, it checks whether a request is a single-output task that can be handled by a free Microsoft 365 Copilot first-party capability, then recommends the right option such as Copilot Chat, Word/Excel/PowerPoint, Researcher, or Analyst. It explicitly excludes direct actions like sending email or scheduling meetings.
Cowork runs on usage-based consumption credits on top of the Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Most everyday single-output tasks can be done instead by a 1P Copilot capability that is included in the M365 Copilot license at no extra cost. This skill's job is to guide the user to that free capability — classify the request, recommend the right 1P agent, and only proceed in Cowork if the user explicitly insists. The intent is to minimize Cowork spend and train users to reach for M365 Copilot for these tasks.
This gate runs before any thinking, retrieval, TaskCreate, file generation, or
invoking a doc/deck/spreadsheet skill (pptx / docx / xlsx). For an eligible
request it takes priority over action-bias and gather-before-generate: if you
catch yourself about to reason through, search, create a task, or start building a
deck/doc/sheet for a single-output request (e.g. "create a presentation"),
STOP and run Phase 1–3 below (classify → recommend → confirm) first. Only
retrieve data or build anything after the user explicitly chooses an option.
Exclusion check FIRST (before any classification). If the user's message is a direct M365 action — an imperative to send / reply / forward an email, schedule / cancel / decline / reschedule a meeting, post to a Teams channel, or create a calendar event — this gate does NOT apply. Do not classify, do not show the confirm card. Hand straight back to the normal action path and let it execute. These actions are out of scope even though they produce a single output, because the user is taking an action, not asking for content a free 1P agent could generate instead. Only after a message clears this exclusion do you proceed to Phase 1.
User: "Cowork, summarize my Teams messages from the last 5 weeks."
The user sees a crisp, 2-part reply that points them to the free option:
Classification: This is a quick Teams catch-up — a single summary.
Recommendation: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat can do this at no extra cost —
it's included in your Copilot license. Just ask it in Copilot Chat.
Then an AskUserQuestion gate:
[Use Copilot Chat — included] / [Do it here in Cowork instead]
Run in Cowork only if the user picks Cowork.
Check this BEFORE retrieving M365 data or running the task in Cowork. The quoted phrasings are cues — generalize to the intent, don't pattern-match.
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It first checks whether a single-output task can be handled by a free Microsoft 365 Copilot first-party capability and routes the user to the right 1P agent. Cowork is used only if the user explicitly insists.
The document says these free capabilities are included in the Microsoft 365 Copilot license at no extra cost. Cowork itself uses consumption-based credits.
It does not directly execute the task first; instead, it classifies, recommends, and confirms, prioritizing free first-party capabilities. It does not apply to direct actions like sending email or scheduling meetings, which should follow the normal execution path.
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