Ensuring Copilot Writes in UK English: A Comprehensive Guide

Microsoft Copilot is a powerful AI assistant designed to help with writing, summarising, and improving content. However, one common frustration among users in the UK is that Copilot tends to default to US English, even when they expect UK English spelling and grammar.

If you’ve noticed words like ‘color’ instead of ‘colour’ or ‘analyze’ instead of ‘analyse’, you’re not alone. By default, Copilot often prioritises US English unless you explicitly tell it otherwise. In this guide, we’ll explain why this happens and how to make sure Copilot writes in UK English consistently. While updating your language settings in Copilot, Microsoft Office, and Windows can help, the most effective way to ensure UK English output is by specifying it directly in your prompt.

1. Specify UK English in Your Prompt

The simplest and most reliable way to ensure Copilot writes in UK English is to include a direct instruction in your prompt. For example:

• “Write a 500-word blog post in UK English about climate change.”

• “Generate a professional email in UK English.”

By explicitly stating “UK English,” Copilot is more likely to follow the correct language conventions.

If you forget to do this, you can always add an extra instruction at the end of your conversation, such as:

• “Now rewrite this in UK English.”

This will prompt Copilot to adjust spellings and grammatical structures accordingly.

2. Check Your Language Settings in Copilot

Although specifying UK English in the prompt is the best way to control output, updating Copilot’s language settings may also help:

1. Go to copilot.microsoft.com.

2. Sign in with your Microsoft account.

3. Click on the settings cog (bottom left corner).

4. Select 'Change your language

5. Look for the 'Preferred langues' setting and change it to UK English if necessary.

Updating this setting can improve Copilot’s ability to generate content in UK English by default, but it is not as reliable as explicitly stating UK English in your prompt.

3. Adjust Language Settings in Microsoft Word & Outlook

Since Copilot integrates with Microsoft Office products like Word and Outlook, ensuring your language settings are correct there is also important.

In Microsoft Word:

1. Open Word and go to ‘File’ > ‘Options’.

2. Select ‘Language’ from the sidebar.

3. Under ‘Office authoring languages and proofing’, make sure English (United Kingdom) is set as the default.

4. If needed, click ‘Set as Default’ and restart Word.

In Microsoft Outlook:

1. Open Outlook and go to ‘File’ > ‘Options’.

2. Select ‘Mail’ > ‘Editor Options’.

3. Go to the ‘Language’ tab and ensure UK English is the default proofing language.

While these settings can help, they do not guarantee that Copilot will always generate content in UK English unless you specify it in your prompt.

4. Configure Your Windows Keyboard & Language Settings

Copilot may also be influenced by your overall Windows 11 language settings. Here’s how to verify and update them:

1. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Time & Language’ > ‘Language & region’.

2. Under ‘Preferred languages’, make sure English (United Kingdom) is at the top.

3. Click on it and check if the language pack is installed. If not, install it.

4. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Time & Language’ > ‘Typing’.

5. Ensure your spell check and autocorrect settings are aligned with UK English.

6. Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Devices’ > ‘Typing’ and ensure UK English is selected under keyboard preferences.

These settings reinforce UK English preferences across your system, but they do not replace the importance of specifying UK English in your Copilot prompts.

Final Thoughts

While Copilot is an incredibly useful tool, its default language settings can sometimes lead to content being generated in US English. The best way to ensure Copilot writes in UK English is to explicitly state it in your prompt. Other measures, such as adjusting settings in Copilot, Word, Outlook, and Windows, may help reinforce UK English preferences, but they are secondary to specifying UK English in your instructions.

Taking these small steps will save you time and effort in manually correcting spelling and grammar errors later, allowing you to focus on producing high-quality content effortlessly.