Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant app, free with a Microsoft account and upgraded through Microsoft 365 subscriptions. What decides whether it suits you is how much of your day sits in Word, Excel, Outlook and OneDrive, and whether you need the deeper tools, since Researcher and Cowork come with Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is made by Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, United States. It runs on the web, in apps for Windows and Mac, and in apps for iOS and Android. It is now one app across personal and work accounts. Microsoft 365 Copilot for business, priced from $30 per user a month, is a separate product and is not what this review covers.
Copilot is not sold on its own. The paid tiers come with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and the free tier needs a Microsoft account.
What you can do with Microsoft Copilot
Copilot chats with web search, and Researcher cites web sources in its reports. Researcher, which was formerly called Deep Research, is on Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro. Cowork is the agent for multi-step tasks. Cowork is on Premium and Pro, and Personal adds advanced Copilot chat with higher usage than the free tier.
You can upload files for analysis and generate images, with higher image usage on paid plans. Voice mode and Vision are both part of the app, and generated audio is in English only. Images captured with Copilot Vision are not used for training.
Memory is on by default where it is available, and you can edit it or turn it off. Projects have been renamed Notebooks. Signing in with a Microsoft account unlocks chat history, more image creation, longer conversations and extended voice sessions, while some capabilities on the free tier are subject to usage limits.
Copilot connects to OneDrive, Outlook.com, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts, and these connectors apply to Personal, Family, Premium and Pro subscribers. It also works with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and OneNote.
Researcher is the tool for longer questions. It builds cited reports from web sources. Cowork, the multi-step agent, is the other feature that sits on those two plans.
Working with other people
Copilot is a personal app. Microsoft 365 Family covers up to 6 people, but the AI benefits are for the subscription owner only. The cheapest paid plan, Personal, is for one person. The personal app signs in with a Microsoft, Apple or Google account, and enterprise single sign-on belongs to the separate work version of Copilot.
Microsoft Copilot pricing: what each plan gives
Copilot is free with a signed-in Microsoft account, and some capabilities on the free tier are subject to usage limits. Signing in unlocks chat history, more image creation, longer conversations and extended voice sessions. Microsoft 365 Personal and Premium both come with a one month free trial.
Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year ($8.33 a month), for one person, and adds advanced Copilot chat with higher usage than the free tier. Microsoft 365 Family costs $12.99 a month, or $129.99 a year ($10.83 a month), for up to 6 people, with the AI benefits going to the subscription owner only.
Microsoft 365 Premium costs $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year ($16.67 a month), and brings extensive AI usage, Researcher and Cowork. Microsoft 365 Pro costs $99.99 a month on monthly billing, and gives the highest AI usage limits.
Privacy and security
In the personal app used with a personal Microsoft account, training on your data is opt-out. Images captured with Copilot Vision are not used for training. The personal app does not have enterprise single sign-on, which belongs to the work version.
Support is through Microsoft Support help articles and community forums. Copilot runs in the cloud, with web, desktop and mobile apps.
Who Microsoft Copilot suits
Microsoft Copilot suits people who live in Word, Excel, Outlook and OneDrive and want an AI assistant tied to them, since it works with those apps and connects to OneDrive and Outlook.com. It also suits people who already pay for Microsoft 365, because the Personal, Family, Premium and Pro tiers bring Copilot with them, and who also keep files in Google Drive or Gmail, since both connect.
It suits less well families who hope to share the AI, since on Microsoft 365 Family the AI benefits are for the subscription owner only. It also suits less well anyone who wants Researcher or Cowork on the cheapest paid plan, since those are on Premium and Pro, and teams that need enterprise single sign-on, which belongs to the separate work version.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost?
Copilot is free with a Microsoft account. Paid tiers come with Microsoft 365: Personal at $9.99 a month, Family at $12.99, Premium at $19.99 and Pro at $99.99, with yearly rates of $8.33, $10.83 and $16.67 a month for the first three. Microsoft 365 Copilot for business is a separate product from $30 per user a month.
What is Researcher?
Researcher is the research tool in Copilot, formerly called Deep Research, and it cites web sources in its reports. It is on Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro.
Can my family use the AI on Microsoft 365 Family?
Microsoft 365 Family covers up to 6 people, but the AI benefits are for the subscription owner only.
Does Microsoft train on my chats?
In the personal app with a personal Microsoft account, training on your data is opt-out, so you can opt out. Images captured with Copilot Vision are not used for training.
