What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant for chatting, finding information, drafting content and generating images, on the web, Windows, Mac and mobile. Use it free with a Microsoft account, or through a Microsoft 365 plan to work inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Usage limits apply on every plan.
What can you do with Microsoft Copilot?
Copilot is a chat assistant that answers questions with grounded search, summarizes information, drafts content and generates images. Microsoft offers it on the web, as a desktop app for Windows and Mac, in Microsoft Edge and on mobile, and says your conversations follow you across devices while staying separate by account.
With a Microsoft 365 subscription, Copilot also works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps, so you can draft a document, analyze a spreadsheet or summarize email where the file already is. Copilot for work accounts is a separate business offering; this profile covers the individual plans. For coding, see GitHub Copilot, a different product.
Try it on a small task
Suggested workflow: sign in with a Microsoft account at copilot.microsoft.com and ask Copilot to summarize a long article you have already read, then to turn the summary into a short email. Compare the result with what you know and note what it got wrong.
If you have Microsoft 365, open a real spreadsheet in Excel and ask Copilot to explain a trend or build a chart. Check the numbers it cites against the cells before you share anything.
Microsoft Copilot pricing and plans
Microsoft Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account. Paid Microsoft 365 plans give higher usage than the free app and add Copilot in the Microsoft 365 apps. In the US, Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 per month and Family $12.99 per month; in Family, the AI features are for the subscription owner only. Microsoft 365 Premium costs $19.99 per month and adds extensive usage plus the Researcher, Analyst and Cowork features. Microsoft 365 Pro costs $99.99 per month, is billed monthly only and has the highest usage.
Microsoft lists a one-month trial for Personal, Family and Premium. Usage limits apply on all plans, and prices and features vary by country.
What stands out
- Chat, grounded search and image creation in one app
- Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with Microsoft 365
- Researcher, Analyst and Cowork on Premium and Pro
Before you choose
- Usage limits apply on every plan, including paid ones.
- In Microsoft 365 Family only the subscription owner gets the AI features.
- Features and availability vary by country and plan.
Go to the source
Sources & further reading
Based on the official documentation below. Features and access can change; check the provider before making a decision.
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