Microsoft Copilot is the name Microsoft uses for a family of artificial intelligence products. The best-known version is a personal AI assistant that can answer questions, search the web, write, analyze files, create images and hold voice conversations. The same brand also covers AI inside Microsoft 365, a low-code agent platform, a developer assistant and a separate security product.
That breadth is useful, but it creates a basic problem: two people can say they “use Copilot” while describing completely different software, prices and data rules. A free conversation at copilot.microsoft.com is not the same product as Microsoft 365 Copilot connected to company email and files. GitHub Copilot is not included merely because an organization bought Microsoft 365 Copilot. A Copilot+ PC is a hardware category, not a premium chatbot plan.
This guide maps the complete ecosystem. If you want to begin with the personal assistant, use our step-by-step guide to using Microsoft Copilot. If the purchase decision is the immediate question, see the full Microsoft Copilot pricing comparison.
Microsoft Copilot at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
| What is Microsoft Copilot? | A family of AI assistants, workplace tools, agents and specialist products made or sold by Microsoft |
| Is Microsoft Copilot free? | The personal assistant has a free baseline; Copilot Chat is also included for eligible work accounts |
| What is the main consumer plan? | Microsoft 365 Premium offers the highest consumer Copilot limits; Personal and Family also include selected AI features |
| Is Copilot Pro still sold? | No. Microsoft stopped selling Copilot Pro to new customers in October 2025 and directs new buyers to Microsoft 365 Premium |
| What is Microsoft 365 Copilot? | Microsoft’s managed AI product for work, grounded in permitted organizational data and integrated with Microsoft 365 |
| Does Copilot use OpenAI models? | Yes, but modern Copilot products can route among Microsoft, OpenAI and—in selected managed experiences—Anthropic models |
| Is GitHub Copilot the same product? | No. GitHub Copilot is a separate coding product with its own plans and data rules |
| What is Copilot Studio? | Microsoft’s low-code platform for building, connecting, publishing and governing AI agents |
| Do I need a Copilot+ PC? | No. Ordinary cloud-based Copilot works on many existing devices; Copilot+ PC refers to hardware with a qualifying neural processor |
| Can Copilot make mistakes? | Yes. It can hallucinate, misread sources, mishandle a file or take an unintended action when tools are enabled |
What is Microsoft Copilot?
At its simplest, Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that responds to natural-language instructions. A user can type or speak a request, attach supported material and continue the task through conversation. Depending on the product and plan, Copilot may combine an AI model with web search, files, Microsoft 365 data, connected services or tools that perform actions.
The name “copilot” expresses Microsoft’s intended role for the software: it should work alongside a person rather than quietly replace the person responsible for the result. That distinction matters. Copilot can produce a first draft, surface information or perform part of a workflow, but a human still needs to define the goal, control access and review consequential output.
The product has changed significantly since Microsoft introduced Bing Chat in 2023. What began as a search-grounded chat experience became Microsoft Copilot, while the same brand expanded into productivity, coding, security, sales, service and agent-building products. Microsoft now uses Copilot as a user-facing layer across much of its software business.
For current launches and feature changes, follow AI World Today’s Copilot news hub. This evergreen guide focuses on the stable product map.
“Copilot” does not mean one product
The most useful first step is to identify which Copilot a page, price or privacy statement is discussing.
| Product | Intended user | What it does | How access works |
| Microsoft Copilot | Individuals | General chat, web answers, writing, files, images, voice and selected personal features | Free baseline on web and apps; paid benefits through eligible Microsoft 365 consumer plans |
| Copilot in Microsoft 365 for individuals | Personal Microsoft 365 subscribers | AI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and related personal experiences | Included for the subscription owner of eligible Personal, Family or Premium plans; limits apply |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat | Employees and students | Secure, primarily web-grounded work chat with files and approved agents | Available at no additional charge to eligible Entra users with qualifying Microsoft 365 access |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Organizations | Work-grounded chat, search, app integration, advanced agents and administration | Paid organizational license or eligible bundle; qualifying Microsoft 365 base plan required |
| Microsoft Copilot Studio | Agent makers and organizations | Builds custom agents, knowledge connections, actions, flows and channels | Microsoft 365 entitlements for some internal scenarios or standalone consumption/capacity |
| GitHub Copilot | Developers and engineering teams | Code completion, chat, review, CLI and agentic software work | Separate Free, individual and organizational GitHub plans |
| Microsoft Security Copilot | Security and IT teams | Incident response, threat hunting, posture, queries, reporting and security agents | Separately licensed capacity or eligible Microsoft security benefits |
| Dynamics 365 and role-based copilots | Business functions | AI for sales, service, finance and other domain workflows | Product-specific licenses and entitlements |
There are additional product names, previews and embedded experiences. The table is a map, not a promise that every feature is available in every country, device or tenant.
How does Microsoft Copilot work?
A Copilot answer is usually created through a combination of four layers:
- A language or multimodal model interprets the request and generates content.
- Grounding supplies current or private context, such as web results, a file or permitted company data.
- The product layer adds conversation history, memory, interfaces, permissions and safety controls.
- Tools or agents can retrieve information, run a workflow or perform an approved action.
This explains why “Which model does Copilot use?” does not have one permanent answer.
Copilot uses model routing
Microsoft’s personal Copilot uses a default Smart experience that can route a task behind the scenes. Microsoft has integrated models from OpenAI while increasingly deploying its own MAI model family. In managed Microsoft 365 experiences, administrators can also permit Anthropic models for selected functions.
A fixed model label is therefore a poor way to describe the complete product. The model can differ by mode, feature, plan, region and rollout. A research agent may not use the same system as a quick chat. GitHub Copilot has its own multi-provider model catalog.
The practical question is whether the selected experience can complete the task with acceptable accuracy, latency, cost and data handling. A famous model name does not override the contract and controls of the product through which it is used.
Grounding gives Copilot information
A language model alone does not continuously know what happened after training. Grounding supplies relevant information at the time of the request.
Depending on the Copilot product, grounding can come from:
- a Bing web search;
- a document uploaded by the user;
- the open page or tabs in Microsoft Edge;
- the document currently open in a Microsoft 365 app;
- permitted email, meeting, chat and file data through Microsoft 365;
- an approved connector or knowledge source;
- a business system reached by an agent;
- or a software repository available to GitHub Copilot.
Grounding can make an answer more current or specific, but it does not guarantee correctness. Copilot may select an irrelevant passage, misunderstand a table or produce a conclusion the source does not support.
Permissions determine what workplace Copilot can see
Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot can use organizational context through Microsoft Graph and Microsoft’s Work IQ layer. It does not receive a magical right to read the whole company.
Copilot should respect the access already assigned to the person making the request. If an employee cannot open a confidential file, Copilot should not use that file merely because it exists in the tenant. The reverse is also important: weak permissions or overshared SharePoint sites can become more visible once a conversational system makes information easier to find.
AI readiness therefore includes data hygiene. Adding Copilot does not repair an organization’s permissions automatically.
Tools change an answer into an action
A normal chat produces content. An agent or connected tool may do something with it.
For example, a tool could:
- retrieve the status of a customer order;
- create a ticket;
- update an approved record;
- start a flow;
- prepare a pull request;
- or route a request for human approval.
The ability to act creates value and risk. An inaccurate paragraph can be corrected. An incorrect update to a production system may require rollback, notification and investigation. Use scoped credentials, explicit approval points and audit logs.
Microsoft Copilot for personal use
The standalone personal assistant is available at https://copilot.microsoft.com and through supported Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Edge experiences. A baseline is free.
Users can ask questions without an account in supported markets, but signing in unlocks features such as saved history, longer conversations, personalization, image creation and voice. Exact access can vary by country, age, platform and demand.
Chat, modes and web search
Standard Copilot can explain a subject, brainstorm, draft text, compare options and answer current questions using web results. Current mode names include Smart, Quick Response, Think Deeper, Study & Learn and Search, although Microsoft changes interfaces and availability over time.
Search-backed answers can show source links. Open those sources when the answer matters. A citation can be real while the sentence attached to it overstates what the page says.
Files and Pages
Users can attach supported documents, images and data files for analysis. Copilot Pages provides a separate space for developing and refining longer written output.
Useful file tasks include:
- summarizing a report;
- comparing two documents;
- extracting action items;
- explaining a table;
- finding contradictions;
- and turning notes into a structured draft.
Do not assume a file was processed perfectly because the response is fluent. Ask for page or section references and inspect the decisive passages.
Voice and Vision
Voice provides a spoken conversation. Vision can use a shared camera or screen in supported experiences to respond to what the user is showing.
Vision is useful for guidance through an interface, interpreting an object or discussing what appears on screen. It is not an independent human observer. It can miss details, misidentify an object or give unsafe instructions.
Microsoft says Vision images are processed for the session and are not retained afterward or used for training or personalization, although text transcripts may be saved. The precise account and feature still matter; review the complete Copilot privacy guide before sharing sensitive visual material.
Images, memory and connectors
Copilot can create images in supported experiences. Personalization and memory can retain useful details when enabled. Personal connectors can bring in selected information from services such as OneDrive, Outlook.com, Google Drive, Gmail or calendars.
Each connector expands the data boundary. Before connecting an account, check:
- what Copilot can read;
- whether it can take actions;
- which account is being connected;
- how to disconnect it;
- and whether the content is appropriate for a consumer AI service.
Two features already scheduled to disappear
Feature lists age quickly. Microsoft has announced that consumer Deep Research and Podcasts in the Copilot app will be retired on August 18, 2026.
Existing Deep Research reports will remain accessible through Researcher for Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers or through chat history for Personal and Family subscribers. Previously created Copilot Podcasts will no longer be accessible after retirement.
Neither retiring feature should be the reason to buy a long-term subscription. Microsoft 365 Researcher is a separate continuing experience for eligible users.
Copilot in Microsoft 365 personal plans
Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium include Copilot capabilities in applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for the subscription owner.
This is different from using the standalone personal assistant. Copilot inside an app can work with the open document and use application features. It may draft or rewrite text in Word, analyze a workbook in Excel, produce a presentation in PowerPoint or summarize an email thread in Outlook.
Family and Premium subscriptions can be shared with other people for applications and storage, but the AI entitlement is not shared in the same way. Microsoft states that the AI features belong to the subscription owner. A six-person storage plan should not be marketed as six full Copilot subscriptions.
Our practical guide to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams provides workflows and prompts without mixing them with enterprise deployment.
Microsoft 365 Copilot for work
For organizations, the product map starts with the difference between Copilot Chat and the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Eligible employees and students can receive Copilot Chat at no additional charge when signed in with a qualifying organizational account. It offers enterprise data protection and web-grounded chat. Users can attach permitted work files and use available agents.
It is misleading to call this simply “the free version of paid Copilot.” Copilot Chat has its own eligibility requirements and a more limited relationship with organizational context. Agent use may be metered.
Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot
The paid product adds fuller Work IQ grounding across permitted meetings, email, chats, files and people; priority access; deeper integration in Microsoft 365 applications; advanced agents; and organizational analytics and controls.
Microsoft 365 Copilot includes experiences such as:
- work-grounded chat;
- Copilot Search;
- Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams;
- Researcher for multi-source reports;
- Analyst for data work;
- Facilitator and other Microsoft-built agents;
- custom agents;
- and Copilot Cowork for delegated multi-step work where available.
The relevant advantage is not merely a stronger empty chat box. It is the ability to work inside an existing Microsoft environment under organizational identity, permissions and administration.
Read our complete Microsoft 365 Copilot guide for licensing, Work IQ, rollout, governance and adoption.
Microsoft Copilot Studio
Microsoft Copilot Studio is a graphical, low-code platform for building and managing agents.
An agent can combine:
- instructions defining its role;
- knowledge from websites, files, SharePoint, Dataverse or connectors;
- topics and conversation logic;
- tools that retrieve data or perform actions;
- triggers;
- agent flows and workflows;
- authentication;
- and publication channels.
The result might be an internal HR assistant, a customer-service agent, a shipment-status tool or an automation that starts when a business event occurs.
Microsoft 365 Copilot users can build some internal employee agents under their entitlements. Standalone Copilot Studio capacity or pay-as-you-go billing becomes relevant for broader deployment, external channels and consumption-based scenarios. “Included agent creation” does not mean every agent can run without a separate cost.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is a separate product for software development. It can provide inline completion, answer questions about code, edit multiple files, work in agent mode, review changes, operate from the command line and perform cloud-based coding tasks.
GitHub Copilot now supports models from multiple providers, including Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and selected open-weight model families. Availability depends on the plan and client.
The central safety practice is to treat generated code as untrusted until reviewed and tested. Copilot can introduce a security bug, repeat an unsafe pattern, misunderstand a dependency or solve the wrong problem elegantly.
Buying Microsoft 365 Copilot does not automatically buy the GitHub product. Compare its own Free, Pro, Pro+, Max and organizational plans.
Microsoft Security Copilot
Microsoft Security Copilot is designed for security and IT teams. It works as a standalone experience and inside products such as Microsoft Defender, Entra, Intune, Purview and Sentinel.
It can help with:
- incident summaries;
- threat hunting;
- script and query generation;
- identity and device investigations;
- posture analysis;
- policy and report preparation;
- and specialist security agents.
Security Copilot uses separate capacity and licensing rules. It does not grant itself more permission than the signed-in user should have, and it should not be treated as an autonomous authority to close a serious incident.
What is a Copilot+ PC?
A Copilot+ PC is a Windows hardware category with a qualifying neural processing unit and other minimum specifications. It can run local or hybrid AI features such as Recall, Click to Do, Cocreator, Live Captions and Studio Effects, depending on the device and region.
It is not required for ordinary Microsoft Copilot chat. The cloud assistant works on many conventional computers and phones.
This distinction prevents three common errors:
- A Copilot subscription does not turn an ordinary laptop into Copilot+ hardware.
- Buying a Copilot+ PC does not necessarily include every paid Copilot service.
- Local Windows AI features can have different privacy and processing rules from cloud Copilot.
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Yes, the personal assistant has a free baseline. Eligible organizational users can also receive Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat without an additional Copilot license.
“Free” does not mean every product is included. Microsoft 365 Premium, paid Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio capacity, GitHub Copilot paid plans and Security Copilot are separate purchases or entitlements.
The correct plan depends on the task:
- Use personal Copilot Free to test general conversation, search, writing and basic multimodal features.
- Choose a Microsoft 365 consumer plan when AI inside personal Office applications and storage matter.
- Use Copilot Chat to start securely with an eligible work identity.
- Buy Microsoft 365 Copilot when organizational grounding, app integration, agents and management justify the license.
- Buy GitHub Copilot for sustained software-development work.
- Use Copilot Studio when the organization needs to build and operate custom agents.
The Copilot pricing guide separates all current US list prices, temporary promotions and plan requirements.
Microsoft Copilot versus ChatGPT
Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT overlap in conversation, web search, writing, files, images, voice, research and agents. The products are not identical even when an underlying model comes from OpenAI.
Microsoft controls Copilot’s interface, routing, integrations, licensing, safety systems and data environment. OpenAI controls ChatGPT’s corresponding product layer. The same model family can behave differently because it receives different instructions, tools and context.
Copilot is usually the more natural shortlist choice when:
- work already lives in Microsoft 365;
- app-level integration matters;
- the organization wants to inherit Microsoft identity, permissions and compliance tools;
- GitHub is central to engineering;
- or Copilot Studio and Power Platform fit the automation strategy.
ChatGPT may be the stronger choice when:
- the user wants OpenAI’s broad general-purpose environment;
- ChatGPT Work, Codex, Projects, custom GPTs or its app ecosystem are more important;
- Microsoft 365 integration is not decisive;
- or a team prefers a dedicated AI workspace rather than AI distributed across Microsoft products.
Our Microsoft Copilot versus ChatGPT comparison evaluates the direct decision. Use the broader ChatGPT alternatives guide when Gemini, Claude and other products remain on the shortlist.
Is Microsoft Copilot safe?
Copilot has security, privacy and content controls, but no single “safe” label applies to every product.
Ask five separate questions:
- Which account and Copilot product am I using?
- Can prompts or responses be used for model improvement?
- How long are conversations and files retained?
- Which people, systems, connectors and model providers can process the data?
- Can the experience only answer, or can it also take actions?
Signed-in consumer Copilot conversations are stored by default and may be used for model training unless the user is excluded or opts out. Copilot inside Microsoft 365 home applications has different training commitments. Organizational Copilot with enterprise data protection does not use prompts, responses or Microsoft Graph data to train foundation models.
Those stronger organizational promises do not automatically apply because a person is discussing work in a personal Copilot account.
There are also operational risks:
- hallucinated facts;
- inaccurate source interpretation;
- prompt injection in a page or document;
- overshared organizational content;
- excessive connector permissions;
- malicious generated code;
- and unintended agent actions.
See Is Microsoft Copilot safe? for the account-by-account rules and a deployment checklist.
Who is Microsoft?
Microsoft is the public technology company behind Copilot, Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows, GitHub, LinkedIn, Dynamics and Xbox. Satya Nadella serves as chairman and chief executive.
The company’s AI position is unusually broad. It sells the cloud infrastructure used to train and run models, distributes models through Microsoft Foundry, develops its own MAI models, invests in external model companies and embeds Copilot into software already used by consumers and organizations.
Microsoft is a major shareholder and primary cloud partner of OpenAI, but it does not simply “own ChatGPT.” Their April 2026 agreement keeps Microsoft as OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, makes Microsoft’s model and product IP license non-exclusive through 2032 and allows OpenAI to serve products across cloud providers.
Microsoft has also expanded its relationship with Anthropic and offers multiple model providers in selected products. This makes the company’s strategy increasingly multi-model rather than a bet on one lab.
The main strengths of Microsoft Copilot
Distribution
Microsoft can place AI inside software people already use: Windows, Microsoft 365, Edge, GitHub, Dynamics and security products. Users do not always need to adopt a completely separate work environment.
Organizational context
Microsoft 365 Copilot can use permitted work context instead of requiring users to copy and paste everything into a general chatbot. This can improve usefulness and preserve a more coherent management boundary.
Product specialization
GitHub Copilot, Security Copilot and role-based agents can provide domain-specific tools rather than one universal conversation interface.
Full-stack control
Microsoft operates cloud infrastructure, model distribution, software platforms, identity, security and user applications. That creates integration opportunities competitors may need several partners to reproduce.
The main limitations
The naming is difficult
The same Copilot brand covers products with different eligibility, limits and contracts. Buyers can easily compare the wrong plans.
Features change quickly
Modes, agents, limits and model providers can change by rollout. The scheduled retirement of consumer Deep Research and Podcasts shows why an evergreen guide should emphasize product roles rather than every temporary button.
Integration reflects existing data quality
Work IQ and Microsoft Graph can make permitted information easier to use. They can also surface the consequences of poor permissions, duplicate files, outdated records and unclear ownership.
AI can still be wrong
Native integration makes Copilot convenient, not infallible. A spreadsheet formula, meeting summary, legal draft, security recommendation or code change still needs an appropriate reviewer.
Agents increase the blast radius
An assistant that drafts is lower risk than an agent that writes to systems. Every action should have scoped permissions, logging, failure handling and an approval policy.
The ecosystem can create lock-in
The greatest value appears when an organization already uses Microsoft identity, cloud, files, productivity and development tools. That efficiency can also make future migration harder.
How to evaluate Copilot properly
Do not buy Copilot after one polished demo. Run a controlled pilot.
- Identify five to ten recurring tasks with measurable baselines.
- Select the exact Copilot product and account type.
- Clean permissions and decide which data classes are allowed.
- Define what a correct, usable output requires.
- Test representative material, including difficult and failure cases.
- Measure time saved after review—not only generation speed.
- Record factual errors, access surprises and edits required.
- Compare the complete cost, including base Microsoft licenses, agent consumption, implementation and governance.
- Decide who owns the workflow after launch.
- Re-evaluate after meaningful product or model changes.
A successful use case is not “employees asked more prompts.” It is a process that produces a better result at an acceptable cost and risk.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as Bing Chat?
Microsoft Copilot evolved from the Bing Chat product, but the present Copilot family is much broader. It includes personal, workplace, coding, security and agent-building products.
Is Microsoft Copilot the same as ChatGPT?
No. Copilot and ChatGPT may use related OpenAI models, but Microsoft and OpenAI operate separate products with different interfaces, tools, integrations, plans and data policies.
Does Microsoft own OpenAI?
No. Microsoft is a major shareholder and strategic partner, but OpenAI remains a separate company. Microsoft described its post-recapitalization investment as roughly 27 percent on an as-converted diluted basis in October 2025. The partnership terms were amended again in April 2026.
What happened to Copilot Pro?
Microsoft stopped selling Copilot Pro to new customers in October 2025. Microsoft 365 Premium is the current top consumer subscription and combines productivity applications with the highest consumer Copilot limits. Existing Copilot Pro subscribers may still encounter legacy account and support information.
Can I use Copilot without signing in?
The personal assistant supports unsigned use in eligible markets, but history, personalization, image creation, voice and other features can require sign-in. Work and paid application experiences require the relevant account and license.
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot included with Microsoft 365?
It depends on the plan. Personal, Family and Premium include selected consumer Copilot benefits for the subscription owner. Eligible work accounts can receive Copilot Chat. Full organizational Microsoft 365 Copilot requires a paid add-on or qualifying bundle.
Does Copilot read all company files?
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to use content the signed-in user is permitted to access. Poorly configured permissions can still make more content available than intended, so access governance matters before rollout.
Is GitHub Copilot included with Microsoft Copilot?
No. GitHub Copilot is separately licensed. A user can have Microsoft 365 Copilot without GitHub Copilot, or GitHub Copilot without Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Do I need a Copilot+ PC?
No. Copilot+ PC refers to a Windows hardware category for local and hybrid AI features. Ordinary Microsoft Copilot runs as a cloud service on many existing devices.
Which Copilot is best?
Use personal Copilot for general help, Microsoft 365 Copilot for managed work context, GitHub Copilot for software development, Copilot Studio for custom agents and Security Copilot for security operations. “Best” depends on the job and data boundary.
Bottom line
Microsoft Copilot is best understood as a product family rather than a single chatbot. The personal assistant handles everyday questions and creation. Microsoft 365 brings AI into documents and organizational work. Copilot Studio builds agents. GitHub Copilot serves developers. Security Copilot supports security and IT operations.
The shared brand does not create one price, model or privacy policy. Always identify the exact product, account and license before comparing capabilities or entering sensitive information.
For current announcements, follow AI World Today’s Copilot coverage and Microsoft coverage.
byDavid Porter
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