/explain

In everyday life

Explains a topic at an everyday-adult level, building on what you know.

The full prompt

/explain Explain [topic] to me in plain English for an adult beginner. What I already know: [what you know]. Start from there, use one everyday example, avoid jargon (or explain any you use), and keep it under 200 words. End by asking if I want more detail on any part.

Replace the highlighted [brackets] with your own details, then send.

What you're asking

You ask the AI for a clear, grown-up explanation that starts from what you know. You get a short explanation and an offer to go further.

Give it

  • The topic
  • What you already know
  • Why you want to know (optional)

Filled-in example

/explain Explain what "the cloud" is to me in plain English for an adult beginner. What I already know: I use email and look at photos on my phone, but not much else. Start from there, use one everyday example, avoid jargon (or explain any you use), and keep it under 200 words. End by asking if I want more detail on any part.

Use it in any AI chat. The slash word is a label, not a built-in command; the prompt does the work, and answers vary by app. How these work

In Copilot

Explains how the selected code works.

Where you type it

In the GitHub Copilot Chat box in your code editor.

Before you start: GitHub Copilot extension signed in, in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains or Xcode. This is GitHub Copilot, not Microsoft Copilot.

Add

Select the code first. Add a question if you have one.

Example

/explain why this loop skips the last item

Works in

  • VS Code
  • Visual Studio
  • JetBrains
  • Xcode

The list changes by editor and over time. Type / in Copilot Chat to see what yours offers. A real command built into Copilot, checked against its own help pages in November 2026. Official help page