Use Word's AI to Draft Benefits Plan Documents

What This Does

Word Copilot can draft, rewrite, and simplify benefits plan documents (including Summary Plan Description (SPD) sections, open enrollment guides, and benefits policy updates), cutting the time from hours of writing to focused editing.

Before You Start

• Microsoft 365 with Copilot enabled (Word Copilot requires M365 Business Standard or higher)
• You have the source information ready: plan change details, carrier names, effective dates, key coverage terms
• For SPD updates specifically: have the existing SPD section open in Word alongside the plan change documentation

Steps

1. Open Word and a new or existing document

For drafting new content, open a blank document. For updating existing SPD sections, open the existing document.

2. Access Copilot

Click the Copilot button in the Home tab ribbon, or use the Draft with Copilot prompt that appears when you start a new blank document. A prompt box will appear at the top of the document.

Troubleshooting: If you see "Draft with Copilot" greyed out, your M365 subscription may not include Copilot. The feature is available in Business Standard, Business Premium, and Enterprise plans.

3. Draft a new benefits communication

Type a detailed prompt in the Copilot draft box:

Write an employee benefits open enrollment guide section about our medical plan changes for 2026. The changes are: (1) switching from a PPO to an HMO with BlueShield, (2) adding a new High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) option with HSA, (3) keeping dental and vision unchanged. Enrollment window is October 15-November 1. Write at an 8th grade reading level. Include: what's changing, what's staying the same, key deadlines, and a "what you need to do" action list.

What you should see: Word generates a complete draft section (typically 400–600 words) that you can edit directly.

4. Refine with follow-up requests

Once the draft is in the document, select a section and use the Copilot side panel to refine:

• Select dense paragraph → "Rewrite this in simpler language"
• Select bulleted list → "Convert this to a table with two columns: What's Changing and Why It Matters"
• Select the whole document → "Add a FAQ section at the end with the 5 most common employee questions about this change"

5. Update an existing SPD section

If you're updating an SPD rather than writing fresh:

1. Open your existing SPD in Word
2. Navigate to the section that needs updating (e.g., mental health benefits, FSA limits)
3. Select the outdated text
4. With the text selected, click Copilot → "Rewrite selected text"
5. Instruct: "Update this section to reflect the 2026 FSA limit of $3,200 (up from $3,050). Keep all other language exactly as written. Maintain formal legal document tone."

What you should see: Copilot rewrites only the selected section with your changes incorporated, preserving the surrounding legal language.

Real Example

Scenario: Your company is adding a new mental health parity provision to the health plan for 2026, required by the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). You need to update the SPD and write a plain-language employee notice.

Step 1 — SPD update: Select the existing mental health section in the SPD. Ask Copilot: "Rewrite this section to add MHPAEA compliance language. The 2026 plan now provides parity between mental health and medical/surgical benefits for deductibles, copays, out-of-pocket maximums, and visit limits. Maintain ERISA-appropriate document tone."

Step 2 — Employee notice: Open a new document. Ask Copilot: "Write a 250-word employee notice announcing that our health plan now covers mental health visits on the same basis as medical visits (same copays, same deductibles, no separate visit limits). Effective January 1, 2026. Warm but professional tone. Include a sentence that employees can call our benefits line with questions."

What you get: A legally-grounded SPD update and a clear employee notice, both in 15 minutes.

Tips

• Always have a lawyer or benefits compliance specialist review SPD language before distribution. Copilot drafts are a starting point, not a final legal document.
• Save your best prompts in a "Copilot Prompts" Word document so you can reuse them next open enrollment cycle
• If Copilot's draft is too generic, add more specific context: "We're a 2,000-person manufacturing company with a unionized workforce" changes the tone meaningfully

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