What is Microsoft 365 Copilot

One of the biggest turns of events in this world of automation is Microsoft 365 Copilot. This fascinating innovation will power your daily tasks with the integration of AI in all Microsoft 365 tools. This next-generation assistant will co-pilot your activities by turning words or prompts into more productive outcomes in minutes. Let us find out what Copilot AI from Microsoft is in detail.

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot

We all know what Microsoft 365 is. The conglomeration of this widely-used productivity suite and Generative AI has given us Copilot AI. The Microsoft 365 Copilot is, thus, an AI assistant that amps your performance while creating documents, crafting emails, conducting meetings, etc. This chatbot functions the way ChatGPT or any other generative AI works but has more efficient features to incorporate into your operations.

Its feature ‘Business Chat’ works like the popular LLMs and integrates popular business suite apps such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, etc on a common platform. In a nutshell, it builds proper communication between the Microsoft 365 apps you use daily.

Features of Microsoft 365 Copilot

Let us segregate the Copilot AI architecture to understand its functionality better. Microsoft has created a unique single-point source called Microsoft Graph. This cloud-based service accumulates and streamlines all the data you have generated and used in the Microsoft 365 suite apps.

Moving forward, Microsoft 365 Copilot is a system that confluences three genres of technology. They are:

1. The Microsoft Office applications such as Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, etc
2. Microsoft Graph – Your professional content is available at a single source
3. The GPT4 LLM – It analyzes, understands, and delivers human-like responses and readable interpretations of prompts provided.

Now that we have understood the basic functional structure, let us dive deeper to understand the Copilot features.

Microsoft Word

Copilot will assist in creating, altering, accessing, summarizing, and infusing content way faster and accurately with the power of GPT-4 analytics. Here is a glimpse of what you can do with this AI chatbot.

• Get writing tone suggestions
• Argumentative content generation for theses
• Summarization of existing content
• Creating drafts from scratch for existing structures and outlines

Microsoft PowerPoint

Imagine using simple and defined prompts to convert your ideas into exceptional presentations! Well, it is all possible now when you use Copilot AI. You can transform an existing document into a summarized presentation in minutes. Alter notes, tones, and even fonts to make your presentation better. You can:

• Generate presentation summary
• Draft slides by seeking info from another file
• Change the layout and designs of the slides
• Sync animations easily

Microsoft Excel

Remembering the formulas and shortcuts for Excel is a daunting task. Well, you will not have to do it anymore. Simply upload an Excel in Copilot AI and ask what you need. It will generate an elaborate answer based on the prompts. This feature analyzes the fed dataset and presents you the accurate correlations along with visual representations. You can:

• Filter data as per your requirement
• Make categories
• Draft accounting and budgeting aspects
• Generate visuals like bar diagrams, graphs, pie charts, etc
• Avail of insights based on the assumptions by altering one or more variables

Microsoft Outlook

Handling a pile of emails regularly is a hectic job amidst other professional responsibilities. One of the Copilot features enables you to maximize creativity and productivity, in this aspect. Get a summarized version of a long email chain in seconds. This feature even understands and interprets the point of view of each email and gives you quick notes to ponder. Here is what else you can do with the Microsoft 365 feature.

• Frame email drafts by seeking summarized info from documents
• Get a concise view of messages
• Quick clean-up of email inbox with summarized views
• Point out important emails and items in messages

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft 365 Copilot assists you in answering questions and organizing meetings more effectively. You can also concise actions for a team and get updates that you missed. Check out what else you can do by using this AI tool incorporated with Teams.

• Listing possible and crucial topics easily
• Meeting structure creation based on emails
• Create summaries of meetings for late attendees and absentees

Microsoft Power

Microsoft Power offers a multi-featured line of app development, business intelligence, and software applications. Introducing Copilot to this platform will enable you to explain what you need through simple conversations.

Microsoft Power Automate

By incorporating Copilot AI, you can formulate a workflow by simply inputting a text-based prompt. It will also help you in modifying existing workflows.

What can Microsoft 365 Copilot do?

This LLM tool can help you in three remarkable ways.

Enhance your creativity level

Copilot in Word jump-starts creativity, offering a draft to edit, saving time in writing. It is not always perfect, but it gets you ahead. You control ideas, prompting Copilot to adjust. In PowerPoint, it simplifies presentations, adding content from previous documents. Excel’s Copilot analyzes trends and creates quick, professional visualizations. Save your valuable time and amp up your creativity level.

Increase your productivity level

Copilot in Outlook streamlines tasks, from summarizing emails to suggesting quick replies, clearing your inbox fast. In Teams, Copilot makes meetings super productive by summarizing discussions, identifying alignments, and disagreements, and proposing action items in real-time. Plus, Copilot automates tasks in Power Platform, helps create chatbots, and turns ideas into working apps in minutes.

Skill development and sharpening

Uplift your Microsoft 365 skills to a new level by using the chat-based tool to find and introduce new features in the Office 365 apps. You can unlock the features of these apps and don’t have to remember the shortcuts or feature locations to access them. A simple text-based prompt will unlock the rich features and will help you gain a competitive advantage.

Pricing Model of Copilot

Microsoft 365 Copilot will charge $30/user/month to Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, and E5 users. The service provider has revealed that this service will be priced at $5/month/user in the future.

How is it related to ChatGPT?

ChatGPT, the pioneer of generative AI, is an LLM-based chatbot developed by OpenAI. In the same aspect, Microsoft 365 Copilot is also an LLM-based chatbot that assists in completing tasks related to the 365 apps. They may sound the same but have significant differences. Let us point them out.

Functionality

• ChatGPT is used for creating content (textual and visual). You can compose written content such as ad copies, cover letters, emails, lists, and even codes.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates the power of LLM-based chatbot with its Office 365 suite apps.

Generalization

• ChatGPT is a generalized AI tool to conduct research and create content
• Copilot has a streamlined focus on the solutions provided by Microsoft for personal and professional use. It focuses on workplace performance too by unleashing the power of Generative AI in a Microsoft ecosystem only.

Data use

• ChatGPT is not trained to use personal or business data. It is trained to use generalized information. Currently, its new version can scout the internet to seek accurate data. This data is available to the whole world.
• Copilot, on the other hand, can access business data from Microsoft Graph. The business data includes your calendar, chats, emails, meetings, documents, etc that are stored on a cloud-based system. It aims to provide a turnkey solution for businesses incorporating the power of generative AI in 365 apps.

Trial and error

• ChatGPT offers a trial-based approach where you might have to seek better responses. It also suffers from erroneous and hallucinating responses.
• Copilot is fed with specific business data and is well-trained to provide accurate interpretations of text-based prompts. You will get better and more defined answers to amp up your creativity and productivity.

How do you use Copilot?

Windows 11 users will get Microsoft Copilot access directly. It will cost them nothing. In fact, an early free update was released by Microsoft to install this AI assistant. You can find it in the Taskbar or can quickly access it by pressing Windows + C keys.

Microsoft’s GenAI can be accessed via Microsoft Office Suite apps and as a chatbot for assistance. Users can even ask questions or request support for various tasks such as copy/pasting, snipping, etc. Get summarized versions of long-form content or prepare a report by seeking information from the internet using Bing Chat AI.

How are early customers using Copilot?

Early users are being highly benefitted by using Microsoft Copilot 365 in the following ways.

• By generating a precise summary of meetings, emails, and other form of content
• By drawing a draft faster for any form of content
• By finding files in a system faster
• By helping in generating new ideas for writing
• By increasing the effectiveness of emails and chats and enhancing communication

Whether it is CRM or sales, Microsoft 365 has enhanced the process by making efforts more time-efficient. Seeking specific information, writing and reading emails, securing a precise brief of meetings, etc have transformed the outcome of daily tasks in all possible management aspects.

How does Copilot compare with other productivity and collaboration GenAI tools?

Microsoft has managed to place itself at the top in this GenAI era. The disruptive sphere of collaboration Gen AI tools available can be summarized with the emergence of Microsoft’s initiative. For instance, the collaborative use of Copilot with Microsoft Office tools will harness the potential of Gen AI from all possible angles we are using.

Until now, there is no unified strategy that a GenAI service provider has followed to provide a specific application like Copilot. So, a chatbot-like interface will be able to answer your questions like ChatGPT, help in creating and snipping images like Canva orany GenAI image processor, and understand the context of audiovisual content to draw a summary.

It might be able to blur image backgrounds like photo editing AI apps and can even provide a precise visual summary. In fact, Copilot will also be able to centralize and decentralize information across an organization considering the access provided to the employees.

Its collaboration software has delivered a dominant position in GenAI market. In fact, its collaboration with OPenAI will interconnect such applications throughout its products faster than the rivals.

What are the GenAI Risks for Businesses? ‘Hallucinations’ and Data Protection!

Apart from the advantages of using Copilot, businesses might face unforeseen risks of GenAI. Every GenAI model is prone to hallucinations due to its LLM architecture. Repetitive incorrect information may be provided to users due to such hallucinations.

However, the creator of Copilot is sure that proper prompts might be able to bypass such hallucinations. Hence, users need to keep an eye on the outputs and improvise the prompts accordingly.

There is another risk that might lurk in an organization using Copilot. Microsoft 365 is smart enough to seek information from files on a server. Hence, there is a risk looming of data breach. Unsecure data might get leaked to those entities that are not entitled to such level of access. Users may ask for sensitive information and Copilot may not be able judge the risk.

On the other hand, computer systems provided by companies are comprehensively used by employees. They use the same laptops or computers for personal purposes. Hence, Copilot might pick sensitive personal information that has not been deleted from employees’ systems.

Microsoft 365 Copilot – A Game Changer

Microsoft pledges to create an even better platform with the advent of Copilot AI. It will deliver better integration with Office 365 and will bring all the apps cumulatively to give a more productive ground for personal and professional use. There is no doubt that Copilot AI is a game changer and will make users more efficient. With more patches and upgrades, an entire enterprise team will be more coordinated and productive by this revolutionary AI tool.

FAQs on 

What is the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot AI?

Copilot AI will power Microsoft 365 apps with its LLM-powered chat tool. It will boost shaping new ideas by providing stunning insights and suggestions. It also helps users take a step ahead in creating professional content and drawing business insights more easily.

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot AI free?

It is a subscription-based AI tool. It costs $30/user/month.

How can I use Copilot AI in Microsoft 365?

Create an account in Microsoft 365, sign in, and go to the Settings. You can enable the Copilot AI option there and launch any supported Microsoft 365 apps.

Who can access Copilot AI in Office 365?

Anyone with a subscription can access it. It offers services to personal users and enterprises.