Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant from Microsoft. It is a chat service built on large language models (LLMs), programs trained on large amounts of text that answer questions and write text. The consumer version runs on the web at copilot.microsoft.com and as a mobile app, and Copilot is also built into the Microsoft 365 apps.
A user types or speaks a request. The standalone assistant answers questions, brainstorms ideas, gathers information and creates content. Paid plans add more use of visual help from the screen or camera, AI-generated audio and AI image creation. Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Copilot drafts documents, analyzes data, builds presentations and summarizes email. Microsoft states that Copilot brings several AI models together and can choose a model for each request by weighing accuracy, speed and cost.
Microsoft offers a limited free version of Copilot, subject to available capacity and usage limits. Higher limits and Copilot in the desktop Office apps come with Microsoft 365 subscriptions for individuals (Personal, Family, Premium and Pro), billed monthly or yearly.