Microsoft 365 Copilot
Assistant inside Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and PowerPoint with access to company data
| Vendor | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Category | Chat assistants |
| Website | www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Paid plans | Paid plans from $20/mo. Free plan available |
| Models | gpt-5, gpt-4.1 |
| Updated | 2026-09-22 |
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an assistant in Microsoft's work apps: it writes in Word, calculates in Excel, summarizes emails in Outlook and meetings in Teams, and builds decks in PowerPoint. It sees the company's documents, mail and chats through Microsoft Graph and answers with links to them, while the data stays inside the company tenant and out of model training. Businesses buy it as an add-on to a Microsoft 365 subscription, individuals can get Copilot Pro. The interface and answers are available in many languages.
Free plan
Free Copilot in the browser and the Microsoft Copilot app, with no access to company files, no work inside Word and Excel, and limited strong models at peak hours
Paid plans
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Pro | $20/mo | For individuals: Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, priority model access |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | $30/mo | Per seat with annual billing, as an add-on to a Microsoft 365 business subscription. Access to company data through Graph, Copilot in Teams, enterprise data protection, agents in Copilot Studio |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | price on request | A lower-priced version for small businesses of up to 300 users; price varies by country, check the vendor's site |
Tasks it handles well
- Build a quarterly results presentation
- Write meeting minutes from an audio recording
- Write a business letter
- Write a weekly report to your manager
- Analyze budget variances, actual versus plan
- Find a document in your drive by its content
Most useful for
- Accountant
- Lawyer
- HR manager
- Finance manager
- Manager
- Marketer
- Sales manager
- Data analyst
- Teacher
- Executive assistant
- Logistics manager
- Procurement manager
Pitfalls to watch at work
- Copilot sees everything your account can access, including folders colleagues shared by mistake: review SharePoint and OneDrive permissions before rollout
- A Teams meeting summary is built from the transcript and may credit a decision to the wrong person: check it against the recording before sending
- Free Copilot in the browser and business Copilot in Word are different products with different data protection: work documents go only into the business version
Billing
The business license is bought through the Microsoft 365 admin center or a Microsoft partner, paid by company invoice or corporate card, with VAT or sales tax as local rules require. Copilot Pro for individuals is paid by card in the Microsoft Store.
Common problems and fixes
- Microsoft 365 Copilot not working: why the button is missing in Word and what to do
- Copilot in Excel will not work with your table: file, format and AutoSave
- Copilot limits: why free Copilot refuses and what a license gives you
Compare Microsoft 365 Copilot with
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- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Gemini in Google Docs
- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Claude
- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Notion AI
- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Read AI
- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Mistral Le Chat
- Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Poe
Alternatives to Microsoft 365 Copilot
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