Microsoft Copilot

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant: available for free in Windows, Edge, the Copilot app, and on the web. Deep integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook is part of the paid consumer plans (Microsoft 365 Premium). The previously standalone "Copilot Pro" was discontinued in late 2025.

Copilot is less a single product than a brand family that Microsoft layers across its platforms. At its core it's a chat assistant built on powerful language models that writes text, answers questions, generates images, and assists with code. Its real distinguishing feature, though, is how it interlocks with the Microsoft ecosystem: in Windows, Copilot is embedded directly into the operating system; in the Edge browser, it's there as you browse; and in the Office apps, it can access the content of your own documents, spreadsheets, and emails – for example generating a PowerPoint from a Word document or summarising Outlook threads. It's precisely this Office integration that sets Copilot apart from purely web-based assistants like ChatGPT or Gemini.

Microsoft Copilot: Strengths and weaknesses

Copilot's biggest strength is its proximity to many users' everyday work: if you're already in Word, Excel, Outlook, and Windows all day, you get AI support right where the work actually happens, without constantly copying content into a separate chat window. The free version covers everyday queries, web research, and image generation solidly, and the data-protection commitments for business customers are an argument for the European market.

Weaknesses show up in raw model quality and consistency. In demanding reasoning and coding, specialised assistants and models often come out ahead – a direct sense of this emerges from the comparison ChatGPT vs. Gemini, both of which also compete as all-rounders. The Copilot offering is also not always easy to parse, given the many variants (free, Microsoft 365, Business) and the recent renamings. The full value only emerges with a paid Microsoft 365 plan; in the free version, the deep Office integration stays out of reach.

Pricing and plans

Microsoft Copilot can be used for free at a basic level – in Windows, Edge, the app, and on the web, including chat, web research, and image generation. The deep integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, however, is part of the paid consumer plans and starts at around $20 per month as part of Microsoft 365 Premium. For businesses, there are separate Business licences with additional management and data-protection features. The previously standalone "Copilot Pro" has been gone since late 2025 – its features have been folded into the Microsoft 365 plans.

Who is Microsoft Copilot for?

Copilot is the obvious choice for anyone at home in the Microsoft universe: Windows users, Office-heavy professions, and companies that already rely on Microsoft 365 and want AI support directly inside their existing tools. If, on the other hand, you're mainly after a freely accessible, versatile chat assistant and aren't anchored in the Office ecosystem, you should weigh ChatGPT against Gemini – the comparison ChatGPT vs. Gemini is a good starting point. Copilot's value stands or falls on how deeply you already work in Office and Windows.