Summary
Copilot is generative A.I. tool that can help with productivity and streamline your day to day workflows. There are 2 levels of Copilot access. Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot. This article will explain the key differences between the options. As a reminder, Copilot Chat is available through our current Microsoft agreement for all active Students, Faculty and Staff.
Body
Introduction
Copilot is generative A.I. tool that can help with productivity and streamline your day to day workflows. There are 2 levels of Copilot access. Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot. This article will explain the key differences between the options. As a reminder, Copilot Chat is available through our current Microsoft agreement for all active Students, Faculty and Staff.
Key Features
Copilot Chat
- What it is: A general-purpose AI assistant based on GPT-4, designed to help with a wide range of tasks—writing, coding, brainstorming, learning, and more.
- Where it's used: Available in platforms like Bing, Windows, Edge, and other Microsoft Copilot experiences.
- Capabilities:
- Conversational and flexible.
- Can answer questions, generate content, summarize, translate, and more.
- Not tied to your Microsoft 365 documents unless explicitly connected.
- Can use tools like Python, image generation, and web search.
- How to access Copilot Chat
Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium paid add-on)
- What it is: An AI assistant embedded directly into Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams.
- Where it's used: Inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
- Capabilities:
- Works with your organization's data (emails, documents, meetings, etc.) securely.
- Can draft emails in Outlook, summarize meetings in Teams, generate presentations in PowerPoint, analyze data in Excel, and more.
- Context-aware: understands your role, recent files, and organizational content.
- Integrated with Microsoft Graph for personalized and secure access to your work data.
Summary of Key Differences
| Feature |
Copilot Chat |
Microsoft 365 Copilot |
| Purpose |
General AI assistant |
Work-focused productivity tool |
| Integration |
Standalone or browser-based |
Embedded in Microsoft 365 apps |
| Data Access |
No access to your work files |
Accesses your Microsoft 365 data |
| Use Cases |
Broad and creative tasks |
Business productivity tasks |
| Security & Privacy |
General user-level |
Enterprise-grade, Microsoft Graph |
For more information on the premium Microsoft 365 Copilot, please visit these resources
Training Resources
- Here is an article from Microsoft with tips for Copilot to help you be more efficient.
- Microsoft also offers several training resources and demos to better understand how to utilize Copilot for work.