The topic What is Copilot? Everything you need to know about Microsoft’s AI assistant is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Microsoft has attached the Copilot name to so many products that a simple question like “What is Copilot?” now needs a little more context. There is the main Microsoft Copilot chatbot, Copilot inside Microsoft 365, GitHub Copilot for developers, Gaming Copilot for Xbox users, and a separate category of Windows laptops called Copilot+ PCs.
For most people, Microsoft Copilot means the company’s general-purpose AI assistant. So you’d expect it to answer questions, search the web, generate and edit images, and the rest of the usual AI chatbot features. You can access it through a browser or dedicated apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It is also integrated into Microsoft Edge, the Xbox mobile app, and Game Bar on Windows 11.
Copilot has expanded considerably since its Bing Chat days. It now offers several conversation modes, can examine a selected screen or phone-camera feed through Copilot Vision, and can connect to Outlook, OneDrive, Gmail, Google Drive, Contacts, and Google Calendar when you grant permission.
The exact experience depends on the product, device, and subscription you use. Here is how Microsoft’s growing Copilot lineup fits together, what it costs, and what each version can currently do.
Microsoft Copilot is a generative AI assistant that responds to natural-language prompts. You can ask it to explain a topic, compare products, summarize a document, rewrite an email, brainstorm ideas, or create an image from a description. The standard Copilot app works similarly to AI services such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. It combines Microsoft and OpenAI models with web results, uploaded files, conversation context, and any connected services you have authorized. Copilot Search can also retrieve current information with citations.
Signing in unlocks conversation history, longer chats, more image creation, and longer voice sessions. Microsoft retains up to 18 months of signed-in conversation history, although you can delete individual chats or clear the full history.
Keep in mind that Copilot+ PCs have specific hardware requirements and their own set of Windows AI features. Those deserved a dedicated explanation, so we covered them separately in our full Copilot+ PC guide.
The main Microsoft Copilot chatbot is free. Its website and apps include AI chat, image generation, web search, voice, and file analysis, with limited usage, of course. Microsoft also includes Copilot features in its consumer Microsoft 365 plans. Current US pricing is:
Personal and Family include Copilot features in supported Microsoft 365 apps. Premium provides Microsoft’s highest consumer AI limits and access to additional advanced features. AI benefits in Family plans apply to the subscription owner rather than every person sharing the plan. Pricing and feature availability can vary by country.
Microsoft now steers new buyers toward Microsoft 365 Premium. Existing Copilot Pro customers can keep their plan or switch to Premium. Business and enterprise editions use separate licensing, pricing, and security controls.
The answer depends on which Copilot product you use. Microsoft routes requests through different models based on the selected mode, feature, subscription, and workplace settings. For the consumer Copilot app, Microsoft still describes Smart mode as powered by GPT-5. Smart mode chooses between a quick response and deeper reasoning. Think Deeper uses available OpenAI reasoning models, though Microsoft does not identify the exact model behind every answer.
Microsoft 365 Copilot can also offer other OpenAI and Anthropic models through supported model selectors. Some commercial organizations must enable OpenAI-operated models before GPT-5.6 appears. Microsoft plans to enable those models by default for eligible commercial customers on July 24, 2026, unless an administrator disables them. As of July 2026, GPT-5.6 is available in Microsoft 365 Copilot, while consumer Copilot still officially lists GPT-5 for Smart mode.
Copilot can answer questions, draft or rewrite text, translate languages, summarize information, compare products, brainstorm ideas, and search the web. You can upload supported files or images and ask Copilot to explain, summarize, compare, or extract information. Its image tools can generate pictures from written prompts and edit existing images through natural-language instructions.
Copilot can also connect to Outlook, OneDrive, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar. It can retrieve information your account already has permission to access, and Microsoft says connected-service data is not used to train Copilot.
Microsoft 365 places Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams. In Word, it can draft, summarize, restructure, or change the tone of text. PowerPoint can build presentations from an outline or document. Excel can analyze tables, identify patterns, create formulas, and explain data. Outlook can summarize email threads, draft replies, and pull out action items.
Teams users can ask Copilot to recap meetings and conversations, depending on their account and permissions. Business versions can also work with organizational information that the user is already allowed to access.
The Windows app includes the same core chat experience as the web version, plus operating-system integrations. It can search local and OneDrive-synced files, analyze screenshots, answer questions about Windows settings, and launch Voice through the optional “Hey Copilot” wake phrase. Vision can also view selected apps while you ask for help.
These app features do not require a Copilot+ PC. Microsoft reserves another group of locally processed Windows AI tools for computers that meet the Copilot+ hardware requirements.
Features vary by device. Windows includes additional files, screenshots, settings, and Vision integrations, while mobile apps can use the phone camera during Vision sessions. Copilot is available in more than 170 markets, with some regional exceptions.
Copilot, just like any other chatbot, can make mistakes by misunderstanding a prompt or confidently producing inaccurate information. important answers should still be checked against reliable sources, especially when they involve important aspects of your life like work, money, health, legal matters, or personal data.
Personal Copilot accounts include controls for memory, personalization, conversation history, and model training. You can view or delete what Copilot remembers and opt out of having conversation activity used to train Microsoft’s generative AI models.
Uploaded files may be stored securely for up to 18 months unless you delete the associated conversation. Vision handles data differently: Microsoft says screenshots and camera images are processed for the session and are not retained afterwards.
Microsoft 365 Copilot used through a work or school account follows a separate enterprise data-protection model. It can only access organizational content that the user already has permission to view.
Microsoft continues to expand Copilot beyond basic question-and-answer chats. Newer additions bring personalized podcasts, deeper service connectors, richer Pages workspaces, and task-based features that can carry out multistep browser activities.
Copilot has become a broad family of AI tools rather than a single chatbot tucked inside Windows. The free consumer app remains the simplest place to start. Microsoft 365 subscriptions make sense for people who want Copilot inside Office apps, while the workplace, coding, gaming, and Copilot+ PC versions serve their own separate purposes.
