Glossary What is Microsoft Copilot?

By null / 1 Jan 2024 / Topics: Data and AI Generative AI

Copilot is a business-focused generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool developed by Microsoft^® that uses the Azure OpenAI Service — an API that leverages OpenAI language models — to support productivity across various use cases.

Copilot pulls data from various Microsoft 365^™ applications, such as Microsoft Word^®, Excel^®, PowerPoint^® and Teams^®, to deliver impactful insights to user-provided prompts. For instance, users can request Copilot to develop documents based on information from other files, summarize email threads and take meeting notes.

Copilot’s first iteration was known as “Bing Chat,” which debuted in Feb. 2023. After public testing and feedback sessions, new restrictions were imposed on the chatbot. This led to Microsoft releasing Microsoft 365^™ Copilot in March 2023. Microsoft also released a variant version of the tool called Windows Copilot for Windows 11. It was directly accessible for specific users through the taskbar or voice activation.

As more paid users adopted Copilot’s early access version, new features were added. During a Microsoft event in New York City, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella announced Copilot’s general availability release of Copilot to general availability in Sept. 2023.

“[Copilot is] essentially a new category of computing,” Nadella stated. “This is as significant as the PC was to the '80s, the Web in the '90s, mobile in the 2000s, cloud in the 2010s. We believe Copilot will fundamentally transform our relationship with technology and usher in the new era of personal computing.”¹

All chatbots and generative AI tools were united and released under one name: Microsoft Copilot. Enterprises, and then individual devices with Windows 11, received Copilot’s functionality as part of their licenses.

In early 2024, Microsoft announced a new subscription called Copilot Pro. This update comes with priority access and a higher resolution for custom images. But how can leaders use Copilot or Copilot Pro to see a return on their investment? Businesses of all sizes can leverage it for various project needs, including: