Microsoft Copilot

What it is

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant. There is a free chat version you can use in a browser, in Windows and in the Edge browser. Separately, Copilot in Microsoft 365 works inside apps such as Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams, where it can read your documents and emails, depending on your organisation's plan and settings.

Best for

• Offices that run on Microsoft 365 and Windows
• Excel: explaining formulas, suggesting formulas and summarising tables
• Outlook: drafting replies and summarising long email threads
• Teams: meeting summaries and action items (where enabled)
• Word and PowerPoint: first drafts and summaries of documents

How to start

1. For the free chat, open the official Copilot website or the Copilot app in Windows and sign in with a Microsoft account.
2. For Copilot inside Microsoft 365 apps at work, ask your IT team whether your licence includes it.
3. In Excel, format your data as a table (Ctrl+T) before asking questions about it.

Example prompts

In this table, show total sales by region for October and highlight the
region with the biggest drop compared to September.

Summarise this email thread and draft a polite reply confirming the new
delivery date of 5 November.

Pricing

The basic Copilot chat is free with a Microsoft account. Copilot features inside Microsoft 365 apps depend on your subscription or your organisation's licence. Check Microsoft's official pages or ask your IT team.

Watch out for

• Check every formula and number it produces, using the methods in our AI for Excel course.
• Work and personal accounts have different data protections. Use your work account for work data, as your company allows.
• Features and menus change often; look for the Copilot button or panel in your app.

Our tip

If your company already pays for Microsoft 365, ask IT what Copilot features you have before paying for any other AI tool.