if you’ve used windows, word, excel, or teams recently, you’ve probably noticed something called copilot showing up everywhere. what is it? and is it actually useful?
copilot is microsoft’s ai assistant
microsoft took the technology behind chatgpt (it’s a major investor in openai) and built it into all of its products. the idea is to have ai help you right where you’re already working — in your document, spreadsheet, email, or meeting.
copilot in word
open a new document and describe what you want to write. copilot drafts it for you. working on an existing document? ask copilot to summarize it, rewrite a section, or make it more concise. it works directly in word.
copilot in excel
ask copilot to analyze your data, create charts, or explain what a formula does. you can describe what you want (‘show me which products had the highest sales last quarter’) and it creates the formula or chart for you.
copilot in teams meetings
copilot can join your teams meetings, transcribe everything, and then give you a summary with key decisions and action items. for people who miss meetings or can’t follow everything, this is genuinely useful.
is it free?
the basic copilot in windows is free. copilot for microsoft 365 (the version built into word, excel, and teams) requires a paid subscription on top of your existing microsoft 365 plan. for individuals, the free version available at copilot.microsoft.com is powered by gpt-4 and is very capable.
copilot is microsoft’s bet that ai will be how everyone works in the future. it’s worth exploring the free version — especially if you already use microsoft products daily.
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