and maybe even started playing around with it. Like many of us, it starts with casual or even funny requests like “write a poem for my kids.” Pretty quickly, we find ourselves writing more serious requests like “write a business plan for my new invention.”
Like all natural language tools, ChatGPT will do its best to interpret your commands – or what we call prompts.
This primer offers guidance on four very useful prompts, along with templates to customize and examples of each. Most of this material is also available in a downloadable placemat – a one page cheat sheet you can print and keep handy or share with others who are just starting to explore the power of ChatGPT.
When using ChatGPT, it is important to consider both the benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, it can be a powerful tool for saving time, discovering new ideas, and overcoming writer's/coder's block.
However, it is important to be aware of potential inaccuracies or biases in its output, and to use it judiciously, supplementing it with other tools or resources when necessary.
By leveraging ChatGPT appropriately and in conjunction with human expertise, it can be an invaluable tool for boosting productivity in Microsoft 365 administration tasks. Always be careful about the use of sensitive or proprietary company/user data.
To avoid ChatGPT prematurely trying to solve your request, before you submit your question, tell ChatGPT when to start working: type a prompt like “don’t answer right now – just acknowledge you understand saying “I’m ready. Ask me what you need” and then wait for
more details.
For example, after the first prompt in the Training section, ask for more details about specific exams. And if you don’t already have access to ChatGPT, visit chat.openai.com and create an OpenAI account.
Why are prompts structured a certain way? The AI working behind the scenes can go in literally millions of directions based on the experience it has and the information it has access to. It’s important for the user to tell the AI what sort of output they are looking for.
For example, you can tweak the responses to get incredibly granular or high level. For example, “in about 100 characters for short answers.” You can also provide guidance to get longer answers by including this sort of guidance in your prompt: “go into a TON of detail so I don’t miss any steps.”
While the prompts presented here represent excellent starting points, the power of ChatGPT lies in its ability to learn from and adapt to input, leading to more accurate and personalized responses over time.
Exchanging ideas and feedback beyond the first prompt can help refine results even farther. For example, after the first prompt in the Training section, ask for more details about specific exams. Have fun!
These prompts provide general guides for getting started with a particular concept or topic. For example, designing a Teams Governance strategy or Device Management implementation. These are meant to get administrators started thinking through a topic and serve as a great "springboard" for a much larger design or strategy.
Highlighted areas are where you add in details
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on <specific area of technology focus>. Imagine you are in charge of designing a <strategy type> strategy for <technology>. Describe the core concepts required to ensure a tightly governed implementation of <workload/technology/concept>. Focus on <details>. Write the response in the form of a practical how-to guide and include examples.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on collaboration and modern work such as Microsoft Teams. Imagine you are in charge of designing a governance strategy for Microsoft Teams. Describe the core concepts required to ensure a tightly governed implementation of Microsoft Teams. Focus on topics like sensitive data governance and Data Loss Prevention. Write the response in the form of a practical how-to guide and include examples.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on device management and Intune administration. Imagine you are in charge of designing a device management strategy for Microsoft Intune. Describe the core concepts required to ensure a tightly governed implementation of Microsoft Intune. Focus on best practices for proper lifecycle management of devices during onboarding and offboarding. Write the response in the form of a practical how-to guide and include examples.
Now we're getting to the fun stuff. These prompts will get you started toward building comprehensive and purpose-driven scripts for a variety of administration tasks.
NOTE: *Always* double-check code snippets provided by ChatGPT. The AI is amazing, but not infallible. Use these prompts as starting points in your normal development process. ABV: Always be validating.
Create a step-by-step guide with detailed code examples on how to <task> using PowerShell. The guide should be clear and concise and include all the necessary steps and commands required to <task>, including guidance for installing <the relevant PowerShell module>. This result should be <details>. Please include any relevant explanations for each step and command.
Create a step-by-step guide with detailed code examples on how to create a new Teams template using PowerShell. The guide should be clear and concise and include all the necessary steps and commands required to create the template, including guidance for installing the Microsoft Teams PowerShell module. This result should be for a new template from scratch. Please include any relevant explanations for each step and command.
Create a step-by-step guide with detailed code examples on how to create a new SharePoint list using PowerShell. The guide should be clear and concise and include all the necessary steps and commands required to create a new list, including guidance for installing the Microsoft PnP PowerShell module. This resulting list should include the following columns (format = Column Name | Column Type):
Name | single line of text
Color | choice (red, green, blue)
Size | choice (S, M, L)
Date | datetime
Please include any relevant explanations for each step and command.
Do you want to get MS certified but aren't sure where to start? ChatGPT can be a great place to get a general idea where you should look for a particular certification path or area of desired expertise. The information collated on the Microsoft Learn site, while ample, can be a bit tricky to navigate if you're not sure what you're looking for. Why not let ChatGPT guide you?
NOTE: As usual, double-check against the MS Learn site just to be sure you're getting the most up-to-date exam information.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on <target workload, service, or area>. While attempting to <task> you come across the following error: <error>. <any additional details about how you got to the error state; code snippets, actions taken, etc.>. Troubleshoot this issue and advise on how to overcome it.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on Teams Voice. Imagine you are in charge of designing a learning strategy for gaining Microsoft certification. Describe the plan required to gain certification. Focus on telephony and device management as your primary interests. Write the response in the form of a practical how-to guide and include exam numbers and learning resources from learn.microsoft.com.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on SharePoint. Imagine you are in charge of designing a learning strategy for gaining Microsoft certification. Describe the plan required to gain certification. Focus on SharePoint as your primary interests. Write the response in the form of a practical how-to guide and include exam numbers and learning resources from learn.microsoft.com.
Of course, one of the easiest ways to leverage ChatGPT is to ask it questions about problems we run into. This is an area where we all expect Microsoft CoPilot to be a true godsend. But until we have CoPilot, please exercise diligence when validating results from ChatGPT.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on <target workload, service, or area>. While attempting to <task> you come across the following error: <error>. <any additional details about how you got to the error state; code snippets, actions taken, etc.>. Troubleshoot this issue and advise on how to overcome it.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on PowerAutomate. While attempting to create a flow to send an email to a user when an item is added to a list, you come across the following error: "Unable to authorize". This error is coming from the Mail connector. Troubleshoot this issue and advise on how to overcome it.
You are a Microsoft 365 expert and administrator with a focus on PowerBI and SharePoint. While attempting to surface data from a SharePoint site to a PowerBI report, you come across the following error: "An error was read from payload". There is no error property for you to see more detail. Troubleshoot this issue and advise on how to overcome it.
