Copilot

Hi Louie

Thank you for the forum question.

What you’re running into is a very common limitation with Copilot-style document generation: it works best when there’s a clear 1:1 relationship between a row of data and a document output. When you try to introduce multiple legal entities into a single agreement, Copilot can struggle because the structure in Excel isn’t explicit enough.
The solution isn’t just “more data” — it’s better structured data + clearer mapping into Word.
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Best-practice approach: Restructure your Excel data
Instead of one flat table, you want to separate Agreement-level data from Entity-level data.
1. Create two tables in Excel
Table 1: Agreements
AgreementID AgreementName StartDate EndDate
A001 Supply Deal 01/01/26 31/12/26
Table 2: Entities
AgreementID EntityName Address Role
A001 Company Ltd London Supplier
A001 Partner Corp Manchester Buyer
Key point: AgreementID links everything together
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Why this works
Copilot struggles when:
• Multiple entities live in the same row (e.g. Entity1, Entity2, Entity3 columns)
• OR when the relationship isn’t clear
This structure makes it obvious:
• One agreement → many entities
• No ambiguity → better Copilot output
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In Word: Use repeating content instead of static fields
Rather than asking Copilot to “guess” which entity to insert, guide it with:
Option A (Best): Word + Loop / Dynamic Content
If you're using Microsoft 365 with modern features:
• Insert a placeholder like:
• Parties:
• {{Entities}}
Then instruct Copilot:
“For Agreement A001, list all entities from the Entities table and format them as parties in the agreement.”
Copilot is much more reliable when:
• You reference a linked group (AgreementID)
• Not individual entity fields
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Option B: Use Mail Merge (more stable than Copilot alone)
If precision matters (legal docs usually do), combine:
• Excel (structured as above)
• Word Mail Merge with a 1-to-many workaround
Two ways to do this:
🔹 Method 1: Concatenate entities in Excel
Create a helper column that groups entities per agreement:
Example output:
Company Ltd (Supplier), London;
Partner Corp (Buyer), Manchester
Then merge that single field into Word.
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🔹 Method 2: Power Automate (best scalable solution)
Use:
• Excel table
• Power Automate flow
• Word template with repeating section
Flow logic:
1. Trigger on AgreementID
2. Pull all matching entities
3. Populate repeating section in Word template
This completely removes ambiguity and Copilot confusion
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Practical Copilot prompt improvement
If you want to stick with Copilot, phrasing matters a lot.
Instead of:
“Add the entities to the agreement”
Use:
“Using AgreementID A001, retrieve all associated entities from the Entities table and list them as parties, including name, address, and role.”
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Common mistakes causing your issue
You’re likely hitting one of these:
• Entities stored across columns instead of rows
• No unique key linking entities to agreement
• Asking Copilot to infer grouping
• One dataset trying to serve multiple document structures
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Recommended setup (simple + effective)
If you want something that just works:
1. Excel:
o One row per entity
o Include AgreementID
2. Word:
o Clearly indicate where “multiple parties” go
3. Copilot prompt:
o Always reference AgreementID
o Explicitly say “all associated entities”
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If you want the cleanest automation (my recommendation)
Use this stack:
• Excel (structured tables)
• Word template with placeholders
• Power Automate flow
Copilot becomes: “helper for drafting language”
NOT “data engine”
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Quick summary
• Your issue = data structure problem, not a Copilot problem
• Fix by:
o Moving to one entity per row
o Linking with AgreementID
o Using aggregation or repeating sections
• For reliability → consider Mail Merge or Power Automate
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Kind regards

Jens Bonde
Microsoft Office Specialist Trainer

Tel: 0207 987 3777
STL - https://www.stl-training.co.uk
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