Copilot Overview
Microsoft Copilot is available across six tiers — from a free consumer chatbot to a $30/user/month enterprise assistant embedded across the entire Microsoft 365 suite. The name “Copilot” covers a range of experiences that vary significantly by plan. Understanding which tier you're on matters.
Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Free | Free | Copilot Chat — web-grounded AI conversation, limited image generation, copilot.microsoft.com, Windows Taskbar |
| Copilot Pro | $20 / mo | Priority access during peak hours, unlimited image generation, GPT-4o access, Copilot in Office apps (requires M365 subscription) |
| Microsoft 365 Personal (with Copilot) | $9.99 / mo | Full M365 apps (Word, Excel, etc.) + enhanced Copilot access in apps |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99 / mo | Full M365 suite + maximum Copilot capabilities + advanced security features |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (Business) | $18–$21 / user / mo | Full M365 Copilot in all apps + enterprise knowledge access + Copilot Studio included. Promotional $18 rate until June 2026; standard $21/mo |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (Enterprise) | $30 / user / mo | Everything in Business + enterprise-grade compliance, audit, and security controls |
Where You Can Access It
Web
copilot.microsoft.com
Full Copilot Chat experience, available free
Windows 11
Taskbar + Search
Press Win+C or click the taskbar icon
Microsoft 365 Apps
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook
Requires paid M365 subscription
Mobile
iOS + Android app
Copilot app, free to download
Microsoft Edge
Browser sidebar
Copilot in sidebar, free with Edge
Bing
bing.com
Copilot powers Bing AI search
What Model Powers It
Microsoft Copilot runs on OpenAI models via Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service — primarily GPT-4o for the consumer experience and GPT-4o / o-series for enterprise. Microsoft's own Phi models power specific smaller tasks. The model is not directly user-selectable in most Copilot surfaces (unlike ChatGPT or Claude which let you switch models), though Copilot Pro gives priority access to the latest GPT-4o.
Copilot vs Microsoft 365 Copilot
The naming can be confusing. There are two distinct products:
- Microsoft Copilot — the standalone AI chat (copilot.microsoft.com, Windows, Edge). Consumer-focused.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot — the AI embedded inside your Office apps that has access to your emails, documents, calendar, and Teams conversations. Enterprise-focused, requires M365 Business/Enterprise subscription.
When someone says “Copilot is amazing in Teams,” they're talking about Microsoft 365 Copilot. When someone says “I just use Copilot for free web search,” they mean the standalone chat.
Checklist: Do You Understand This?
- Free tier is the web/Windows chat — no M365 app integration
- Microsoft 365 Copilot (Business $18-21/Enterprise $30) is the full in-app AI embedded across Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook
- Copilot runs on OpenAI GPT-4o via Azure — no user model selection in most surfaces
- Available at copilot.microsoft.com, Windows Taskbar, Edge sidebar, iOS/Android app, and inside M365 apps
- Copilot (standalone chat) ≠ Microsoft 365 Copilot (in-app AI with access to your org data)