What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI assistant integrated into the Microsoft 365 apps your organisation already uses. It can draft emails in Outlook, summarise meetings in Teams, generate documents in Word, analyse data in Excel, and create presentations in PowerPoint. Unlike standalone AI tools, it connects to your organisation's actual emails, documents, and calendar data through Microsoft Graph, while keeping that data within your Microsoft 365 compliance boundary.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI assistant built into Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and PowerPoint that uses your organisation's data to help you write, summarise, and analyse faster.
What Copilot Does in Each App
In Outlook, Copilot drafts email replies based on the context of a conversation, summarises long email threads into a few bullet points, and helps you write messages more concisely. In Teams, it takes meeting notes, summarises what was discussed, lists action items, and can catch you up on a meeting you missed by reading the transcript. In Word, it drafts sections of a document from a brief prompt, rewrites text in a different tone, and summarises long documents. In PowerPoint, it creates a presentation outline from a Word document or a text prompt, and generates speaker notes. In Excel, it analyses data, suggests formulas, and generates charts based on what you describe. See How to Use Copilot in Excel for practical steps.
How It Differs from Standalone AI Tools
The critical difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and tools like ChatGPT or Claude is that Copilot connects to your organisation’s actual data through Microsoft Graph. When you ask Copilot in Outlook to summarise last week’s conversation with a client, it reads those actual emails. When you ask Teams Copilot what was agreed in the product review meeting, it reads the meeting transcript from your organisation’s Teams recording. A standalone AI tool knows nothing about your company unless you paste content into it. Copilot operates within your existing Microsoft 365 permissions: users can only access content they already have permission to see.
Licence Requirements
Microsoft 365 Copilot requires an add-on licence on top of a qualifying Microsoft 365 base subscription. As of mid-2025, it is available as a per-user monthly subscription. Your IT administrator assigns the licence in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Once assigned, Copilot features appear gradually in the apps as Microsoft rolls them out. Not all features are available in all regions simultaneously; Microsoft’s release schedule varies by geography and app.
What Copilot Cannot Do
Copilot works well for summarising, drafting, and analysing content that already exists. It is less reliable for precise numerical analysis where accuracy is critical, for highly specialised domain knowledge outside what your organisation’s documents contain, and for tasks that require real-time internet access (it does not browse the web in its basic form). Copilot generates plausible-sounding output, but you should always review what it produces before using it. For AI that connects to your own document library rather than the broader Microsoft 365 graph, see AI assistant based on your documents.
Privacy and Data Handling
Microsoft states that your organisation’s data processed by Copilot stays within the Microsoft 365 compliance boundary. It is not used to train the underlying AI models and is not visible to other organisations. Copilot respects sensitivity labels, data loss prevention policies, and existing sharing permissions. If a document is restricted, Copilot cannot access it for users who do not already have permission. Your organisation’s administrator can audit Copilot interactions through the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
Our tip: Start by using Copilot for meeting summaries in Teams. It is one of the most immediately useful features, requires no setup beyond the licence, and demonstrates value to sceptical colleagues within minutes of your first meeting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and regular ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI that works with information you type or paste into it. It has no access to your organisation's files, emails, or calendar. Microsoft 365 Copilot is connected to your Microsoft 365 environment through Microsoft Graph, which means it can reference your actual emails, Teams conversations, SharePoint documents, and calendar events. It generates responses grounded in your organisation's data, not just general internet knowledge. Your data also stays within Microsoft's compliance boundary and is not used to train the underlying model.
Does Microsoft 365 Copilot require a separate licence?
Yes. Microsoft 365 Copilot requires a Copilot for Microsoft 365 add-on licence, currently priced per user per month, on top of an eligible Microsoft 365 or Office 365 base licence (such as Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, or E5). Microsoft also offers Copilot Pro for individual consumer subscriptions. Your IT administrator needs to assign the licence before Copilot features appear in the apps.
Is my organisation's data safe when using Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft states that your organisation's data processed by Copilot stays within your Microsoft 365 compliance and security boundary. Your data is not used to train the underlying AI models, and it is not shared with other organisations. Copilot respects existing Microsoft 365 permissions: if a user cannot access a SharePoint document, Copilot will not surface that document's content to them either. Standard Microsoft 365 security policies, including data loss prevention and sensitivity labels, apply to Copilot interactions.
Which Microsoft 365 apps have Copilot integrated?
Copilot is integrated into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Loop, and Microsoft 365 Chat (formerly Copilot in Bing for work). Microsoft 365 Chat is a cross-app interface where you can ask questions that draw on content from any of these apps simultaneously. Integration depth varies by app: Teams and Outlook have the most mature Copilot features, while Excel and other apps continue to receive new capabilities with each monthly update.