The other day I had some research to do. I had a fresh coffee, got myself settled with no distractions, opened up the laptop and then.... Research rabbit hole.
You've been there, I know you have.
Good intentions, mind ready for information. It starts so smoothly.
Just open up a webpage.
That leads to another.
Oh, wait! I wanted to check out that competitor's website! Ah, here it is.
And there's that PDF I meant to review. Good thing I still have it open, you know?
Then another tab because that page linked to something interesting.
And now it's dark outside and you’re browsing nature pictures, eyes glazed over. Coffee is cold. Fingers are stiff from being clawed over the keyboard for literal hours. You've got 27 tabs open and no idea which one contained the thing you actually needed.
Oh man. (Insert face palm emoji here)
I cannot afford to spend a whole day chasing meaningless open tabs when I have real stuff to do, can you?
Is there a better way?
Yes. Yes, there is.
Start with, well, a research system
Until recently, I might have recommended Microsoft Edge Collections for this.
But this is also a perfect example of why ongoing Microsoft training matters.
Collections was retired in Edge version 149. Microsoft now recommends moving saved webpages into Favorites, while enterprise users can export existing Collections data. [support.mi...rosoft.com]
What works now? Building organized 'favorites folders' surrounding your research topics.
For example, you might build one around competitive research, and include things like your competitor's sites, product comparisons, pricing, industry research and source material.
So even though the feature may change, you've already built a good productivitiy habit.
Capture what matters for your project
Sure, you could just save the page. But why do that when you can get even more specific?? Grab the information that matters with a screenshot.
A screenshot can help your team quickly see pricing, competitive messaging, website changes, examples worth discussing, and more.
Add a short note explaining why you captured it and you'll high five yourself for the context.
And yes, of course you can invite Copilot to the party
You thought this whole blog post would be about using AI for research, didn't you? Well, it has it's place, that's for sure.
This is where research gets really interesting.
Copilot in Edge can work with browsing context to answer questions about webpages, summarize content, and help compare information. [support.mi...rosoft.com], [support.mi...rosoft.com]
Choose your prompts carefully. An easy, and inefficient prompt, is something like this:
"Summarize this page."
Instead, give Copilot a little more to chew on. Maybe try this:
"Summarize the three points on this page most relevant to an MSP serving small and midsized organizations. Separate factual claims from marketing language."
Or how about this:
"What questions should I ask before recommending this product to a client?"
Oooh, here's one to try:
"Identify the claims on this page that I should verify independently before including them in a client recommendation."
Up your prompting game to turn your casual browsing into actionable analysis.
Don't let Copilot run the whole show....
It's true, Copilot can distill information, summarize like a boss and give you insights quick.
But your role remains as the final gatekeeper. You gotta check that source baby.
Skipping this crucial step can trip you up, and blaming Copilot won't get you out of a jam.
Because it's not a person.
You are.
And someone trusted you with bringing them a recommendation, suggesting a purchasing decision, creating a proposal or creating public facing content.
It's your job, then, to Read. Ask. Verify. Then share.
Omitting this step erodes trust and puts you in a position that you can't win.
So, verify.
And now, share
How in the world do you do that? You need to get this stuff out of your browser and into the team's workflow.
The team doesn't want a heaping pile or unexplained links any more than you do.
Instead, try this:
Source → Screenshot → Key takeaway → Why it matters → Recommended next step
Now you're sharing insight, not homework.
Microsoft 365 is chock full of research tools, and I bet you don't even know the half of them.
The trick is knowing how to put them together to create a process, prompt like a pro and put them into a workflow that saves time and energy.
That's what we teach at Excel and Flourish, so reach out with your research questions. We got you.