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Copilot not generating useable download links

Will Davey 180 Reputation points
2025-07-30T12:18:32.7566667+00:00

Hi all,

Experiencing an issue with Copilot where when creating spreadsheets and documents, Copilot is not able to provide a working download link.

For example, if I ask it to create a Word document called "Test", it will reply saying that "the document "Test.docx" has been created and can be downloaded via the following link:", however there is no link, just plain text.

I have also tried asking for the URL of the download link and when pasting this into Edge, I just get a "This webpage can't be found" error message.

I hope someone is able to assist with this.

Thanks,

Microsoft Copilot | Windows Copilot | Feature

5 answers

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  1. Pope 10 Reputation points
    2026-04-13T07:33:17.06+00:00

    I changed the setting to have copilot think deeper. I then prompted it to "regenerate the response and ensure accuracy".

    The next response contained hyperlinked text that contained what I was expecting.

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  2. Lychee-Ng 20,700 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-08-06T08:17:17.54+00:00

    Hi Will Davey,

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

    Sorry for the late reply, I'm just assigned with this. Thank you for reporting the issue, and I understand how inconvenient it is when Copilot does not generate usable download links when creating documents or spreadsheets. It's been a while, so I hope your issue is solved by now.

    In case it's not, here are some suggestions on the situation: If you're using Copilot in Microsoft Edge, it's now not supporting actual file creation, but only "hallucinations" of the files. While it can no longer generate or share downloadable samples directly, it can still provide detailed instructions and guidance to help you create them yourself.

    If you want to generate files, use Copilot in Microsoft 365 Desktop Apps:

    • Open Word or Excel > Use Copilot from the Home tab
    • Ask it to create a document or spreadsheet
    • Save the file manually or check OneDrive for autosaved versions

    Copilot may try to save files to OneDrive, so make sure it is signed in and syncing. You can check your OneDrive > Documents folder for generated files.

    Let me know if you'd like help verifying your Copilot environment or any other issues. We’re here to help ensure Copilot works as expected. Thanks for your time.


    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.


    Warm Regards,

    Lychee-MSFT | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist

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  3. Alex Mathe 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-17T09:47:15.6266667+00:00

    Hello,

    I may have found a solution regarding file generation, but it required a lot of testing.

    I created an agent in Copilot Studio to retrieve data from an Excel file which I manually load in the chat and generate a new file with a specific format using the data from the original file.

    I encountered many issues with Copilot Studio, and below is what works and how:

    • You need short but precise instructions. Long instructions may cause timeouts with all the thing Copilot studio has to process
    • You need to have Code Interpreter enabled in the parameters
    • You need to use GPT‑5 as the model
    • Your input file must be clean, or at least contain one sheet with no specific formatting
    • Your input file must be a CSV file. The Code Interpreter requires a CSV file. With an XLSX file, it may do “something”, but there is no actual output—even if the agent says the file has been transformed. The generated code simply does nothing
    • AI Builder works in a similar way, but it requires more technical steps (Power Automate, variables), and all of this also consumes credits

    I did not test the agent once published to Teams. The behavior may be different and would probably require some adjustments...

    These are all my tests and recommendations that finally allowed my agent to transform the file. It need some upgrade to avoid new issues

    It is very frustrating because it worked well with an XLSX file last week, and then it suddenly stopped working for no clear reason, so I had to adapt my agent.

    Hope it will help some of you

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  4. Alvin Bass 15 Reputation points
    2026-02-06T23:43:12.82+00:00

    I have been experiencing the exact same problem. I am now creating my files through Frontier in Copilot with no further issues.

    Hope this helps someone.

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  5. Lychee-Ng 20,700 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-23T11:53:07.6066667+00:00

    To everyone in this thread, I understand that it's frustrating when Copilot not generating files like you want. Please note that AI assistants in general, and Copilot in particular, are constantly in development. Due to its special characteristics, AI can sometimes make mistakes and has not yet reached the point of being flawless at the moment. Besides Microsoft's effort, it depends a lot on guidance and training from the users -- all of you. Please be patient and understanding of Copilot's behaviors, support its growth, and you will eventually achieve the results you desire.

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