Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Personal users have been able to access Copilot Chat for free via the Microsoft app for some time. However, this free service doesn’t include any protection for the data you share with Copilot. Any sensitive or business critical data will not be protected in the same way as the files and emails stored in your M365 business account.
Earlier this year Microsoft rebranded its Copilot service, giving business users access to Copilot Chat with Enterprise Data Protection on all data they share with it.
That means when you or your employees log into Copilot Chat using an organisation account, any prompts they use or any information they receive will now be protected in exactly the same was as their M365 files and emails.
You can now safely share live business data with Copilot Chat, knowing it won’t be used anywhere else, all included in your existing M365 licence fee.
How to use Microsoft Copilot?
Copilot Chat is a personal AI assistant that’s now available to everyone in your organisation with a M365 account. Each user accesses Copilot using the chat-bot style user interface that we’ve all become accustomed to by using Chat-GPT. Type in questions or prompts and Copilot can be a sounding board for generating ideas, help with market research, summarise a document or suggest improvements to a PowerPoint presentation.
Features now available to all businesses using M365, at no extra cost:
- Copilot AI chat, powered by Chat GPT-4o
- Copilot Pages, collaborate on documents with people and AI
- Ability to upload files for Copilot to use
- AI image generation
- Enterprise data protection, for enhanced data privacy
- Copilot Control System, allowing IT admin to manage access and usage of Copilot and agents
One further feature is also now available on a pay as you go basis: all users can create AI agents within Copilot Chat that use your organisation’s data to automate repetitive tasks. This means there’s no requirement to be locked into a monthly subscription fee to use agents, you just pay for what you need.
What is the difference between Microsoft Copilot 365 Chat and Microsoft Copilot 365?
Copilot 365 Chat is the service that’s now part of all M365 licenses at no extra cost.
Copilot 365, on the other hand, is Microsoft’s enhanced AI assistant and is described by Microsoft as its “best in class” AI offer. You’ll need to pay an annual fee of £278 per user* (on top of your existing annual M365 licence fees) and this gives you access to Copilot built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Copilot 365 can also securely access your organisation’s stored files and data and use it to assist your employees.
You also get access to analytics and reporting for monitoring Copilot usage across your organisation and calculating the return on investment for your organisation.
While Copilot 365 offers a more powerful AI-supported line-up, Copilot 365 Chat makes AI assistants accessible to all businesses with a M365 licence, making the same licence fee work even harder towards transforming your business.
* Price correct as at April 2025.
How does this impact Heliocentrix’s M365 charges?
There will be no changes to your existing M365 licence fee, the only difference is that when you use Copilot Chat it will be covered under your existing data security.
How can I get M365 with free Copilot AI assistant?
You can purchase M365 licences here through us, your friendly, local IT solutions provider. We’ll be happy to help you get the right IT solutions for your business.