Microsoft Copilot guide: what it is and how to use it

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, built into Windows 11, the Edge browser, Bing search, and Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook. It uses similar AI technology to ChatGPT (Microsoft and OpenAI work closely together), so the experience feels familiar. If you mostly use a Windows PC and Microsoft 365, Copilot integrates more smoothly than going to chatgpt.com.

Where Copilot lives

The Copilot website

Go to copilot.microsoft.com. Sign in with a Microsoft account (the same one you use for Outlook.com or Xbox). You see a chat box. Type questions, get answers, just like ChatGPT.

Free features:

• Chat (text)
• Voice mode
• Image generation (powered by DALL-E)
• Web search built in
• File upload (photos, PDFs)
• Chat history saved to your account

The Copilot app

Free apps for:

• iPhone (App Store)
• Android (Play Store)
• Windows (preinstalled on Windows 11; download for Windows 10)
• Mac (download from Microsoft)

Make sure the developer is "Microsoft Corporation" before installing.

Copilot in Windows 11

Look for the rainbow Copilot icon on your taskbar. Click it. A panel slides out on the right side of the screen. You can ask Copilot to do things specific to Windows:

• "Take a screenshot."
• "Turn on dark mode."
• "Open Settings."
• "Summarize the page I'm looking at."
• "What's on my screen right now?"

Copilot in Windows is still being improved. Some commands work; some do not. Treat it as a helpful chat assistant first, a Windows control panel second.

Copilot in Edge browser

Open Edge. Look for the Copilot icon at the top right (a colorful circle). Click it. A side panel opens. You can ask things about the page you are reading:

• "Summarize this article."
• "What are the 3 main points of this page?"
• "Translate this page to Spanish."
• "Compare this product to the one I had open before."

This is one of the best uses of Copilot: web research without copying and pasting URLs.

Copilot in Office (requires paid)

If you pay for Copilot Pro ($20/month) or your employer has Copilot for Microsoft 365, you get a Copilot button inside Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

• Word: "Draft a 3 paragraph proposal." "Make this section shorter." "Rewrite for a friendlier tone."
• Excel: "Highlight the rows where sales dropped." "Make a chart of this data." "Find any outliers."
• Outlook: "Summarize this email thread." "Draft a polite decline." "Pull out action items I owe."
• PowerPoint: "Make a slide deck about our Q3 results." "Generate speaker notes for this slide."
• Teams: "Summarize what was said in the last 10 minutes of this meeting."

Step 1: Sign up

1. Open a web browser. Go to copilot.microsoft.com.
2. Click Sign in.
3. Use an existing Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, or Xbox).
4. Or click Create one! to make a free Microsoft account.
5. Verify your email if needed. Done.

Step 2: First questions to try

Same as any AI chatbot. Specific, with tone and length:

• "Help me draft a polite email asking the City of Watsonville to fix a pothole. 3 sentences."
• "Explain compound interest with a $1,000 example, in plain English."
• "Compare iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Pro for someone who mostly takes photos."
• "Summarize this article: [paste link]"
• "Create an image of a cat reading a newspaper, watercolor style."

Copilot vs ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini

All four are free to start. Try them. Most people end up with two or three for different jobs.

Copilot's three "modes"

On copilot.microsoft.com you can choose a chat style:

• More Creative: longer, more imaginative answers. Good for writing or brainstorming.
• More Balanced: default. Mix of creativity and accuracy.
• More Precise: shorter, more factual. Good for direct questions where you do not want fluff.

Copilot Pro: is it worth $20/month?

Worth it if:

• You use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook daily.
• You want Copilot to draft and edit inside those apps.
• You generate a lot of AI images.
• You want priority access during busy times.

Not worth it if:

• You only use the free chat at copilot.microsoft.com.
• You can switch to ChatGPT or Claude when you hit limits.
• You do not use Office apps much.

Voice mode

Copilot Voice is free and works on the website and apps. Tap or click the microphone icon. Speak. Copilot responds out loud. Better than Siri or Alexa for most questions. Hands-free use while cooking or driving.

Image generation

Type "create an image of [description]" in any Copilot chat. Free users get a generous daily allotment. Powered by OpenAI's image model, so quality is excellent. See our AI image guide for prompt tips.

Privacy

Copilot is bound by Microsoft's privacy policy. For personal accounts, conversations may be used to improve the service unless you turn off chat history. For business Microsoft 365 accounts, Microsoft promises business data is not used for training. To manage your Copilot data: go to account.microsoft.com/privacy. See our AI privacy guide.

Common problems

Copilot icon is missing from Windows 11 taskbar

• Update Windows: Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
• Right click an empty area of the taskbar > Taskbar settings > turn on Copilot.
• If still missing, sign out and back in to your Microsoft account.

"Copilot is taking a break"

Server overload. Try again in a few minutes, or switch to copilot.microsoft.com if the app is acting up.

Copilot inside Word/Excel keeps asking me to upgrade

You probably do not have Copilot Pro or your work account does not include Copilot for Microsoft 365. The free Copilot is at copilot.microsoft.com only.

"Sign-in required" repeatedly

• Sign out of Edge / Windows account, sign back in.
• Clear browser cookies for microsoft.com.
• Update Edge to the latest version.

5 things to try first

1. Click the Copilot icon in Edge while reading a long news article. Ask: "Summarize this in 3 bullets."
2. On Windows 11, click Copilot on taskbar. Ask: "Turn on dark mode."
3. Type "create an image of [thing]" and see what you get.
4. Talk to it. Tap the microphone and ask a question out loud.
5. Compare answers: ask the same question to Copilot and ChatGPT. See which one you like.

Video walkthrough

Video by Lisa Crosbie on YouTube