Microsoft 365 Copilot: Release Date & more

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Release date and Availability

Microsoft 365 Copilot (aka. Coplilot for Microsoft 365) is already generally purchasable by enterprise customers since November 1, 2023 (as a paid add-on to M365 E3/E5; more below).

Microsoft 365 Copilot Availability

For Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, the Microsoft 365 Copilot Release Date will be “in the future”. However, you can join the M365 Copilot Early Access Program, which gives preselected Microsoft 365 subscribers access to try early versions of Copilot in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other Microsoft apps. The program is free but is on an invitation-only basis. We expect Microsoft 365 Copilot it to be purchasable by Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers earliest by the second half of 2024. Microsoft prioritize enterprise customers with this new Copilot, and are still figuring out their way to best provide and license it to customers.

If you have any questions, just contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT for free expert consultancy on Microsoft licensing for your organization.

Did you mean Microsoft Copilot (previously Bing Chat & Bing Chat Enterprise)?

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Price and Licensing

For organizations, Microsoft 365 Copilot is available as an add-on license, with Microsoft charging a price of $30 per user per month. Microsoft 365 E3/E5 are the prerequisite for licensing, with a minimum of 300 users. This means that Microsoft 365 Copilot can only be purchased as an add-on license if you have one of these plans.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Price

Is there a free trial on Microsoft 365 Copilot?

No, Microsoft made it clear that there are no trials available for Microsoft 365 Copilot at general availability.

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: What is included?

Since November 1, 2023, the Microsoft 365 Copilot includes Copilot in Word, PowerPoint, Excel (preview), Outlook, SharePoint (preview), OneDrive (preview), Teams, Loop, Copilot Whiteboard, Copilot OneNote (only available on Win32 desktops; all devices starting sometime during their fiscal year of 2025), as well as access to Microsoft 365 Chat (find more below). Also, with Microsoft Copilot Studio, you can build standalone copilots for Micrsooft 365 Copilot. Find Microsoft 365 Copilot feature details by Microsoft.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Thumbnail

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Is it worth it?

According to a recent study from IDC, an investment in AI clearly pays off, with a high Return on Investment and a short implementation span. Find more details here: Microsoft AI Study.

IDC graphic about AI and the bottom line

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Licensing channels

Microsoft 365 Copilot is initially only be available through the Enterprise Agreement (EA), Enterprise Subscription Agreement (EAS) and Microsoft Customer Agreement – Enterprise (MCA-E) channels. Further details on availability through the Direct and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) channels will be announced in the coming months. Microsoft 365 Copilot is initially only available through Licensing Solution Partners (LSPs). SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT is your first choice for all Microsoft licensing as an registered LSP. Contact us for a free consultation and learn how to best implement Microsoft 365 Copilot in your organization.

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Microsoft 365 Copilot: Download

The Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption guide will be available for download soon. This guide will be a valuable resource for driving the adoption of Copilot capabilities within your organization.

Downloading Microsoft 365 Copilot

  1. Subscription: Ensure that your organization has an active Microsoft 365 E3/E5 subscription.
  2. Add-on Purchase: Purchase the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on.
  3. Microsoft 365 Admin Center: Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center and navigate to the “Billing” section. Here, you can see the available add-ons for your subscription.
  4. Download: Select the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on and proceed with the download.

Implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot

  1. Technical Requirements: Ensure that your organization meets the technical requirements for using Copilot.
  2. Enable Features: Some features need to be enabled for Copilot to work correctly.
  3. Permissions and Policies: Set up permissions policies.
  4. Admin Controls: Understand and manage admin controls for security, privacy, compliance, and data residency.
  5. Change Management and Adoption: Use the Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption guide (available soon) to drive the adoption of Copilot capabilities within your organization.

 

Differences between Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot

Copilot for Microsoft 365 vs Microsoft Copilot

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: includes Microsoft 365 Chat

Microsoft 365 Chat

Microsoft 365 Chat is a new, hero experience in Microsoft 365 Copilot (previously announced as Business Chat). Microsoft 365 Chat acts as a comprehensive assistant, delving into the vast expanse of your work-related data, including emails, meetings, chats, documents, and even web content. It possesses an in-depth understanding of you, your role, your priorities, and your organization. Rather than merely answering simple queries, it proactively assists you with complex or monotonous tasks.

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: How does it work?

Copilot will be integrated in the main Microsoft 365 Apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams. Microsoft 365 Copilot works across the LLM (including GPT-4), the Microsoft 365 apps, and your data (Microsoft Graph) – your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings and contacts – and combines them to completely do tasks for you.

Using the new Microsoft 365 Chat (formerly Business Chat) feature of Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can type in a natural language prompt in any Microsoft 365 App and it will creatively do the task for you.

Example: In PowerPoint, you type in “Create a 15 slide presentation about the last quarters financial results using the [filename]”. Microsoft 365 Copilot will automatically create the full presentation based on your file’s content, structure it appropriately and it lets you make dynamic changes afterwards. For more info on how to prompt in Microsoft 365, read this Microsoft 365 Copilot Prompt Guidance.

With Copilot, users will make use of more features that are already available within Microsoft 365 Apps. As Microsoft puts it: “The average person uses less than 10% of what PowerPoint can do. Copilot unlocks the other 90%.”

Find an Microsoft 365 Copilot explainer video series from Microsoft on Youtube.

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Privacy

Will Microsoft 365 Copilot be trained with customers’ data?

No. Microsoft has made it clear that Copilot does not utilize customer data, including prompts, for the purposes of training or enhancing their models. They are of the belief that customers’ data belongs solely to the customer and therefore maintain the guarantees they have always made regarding the security and privacy of enterprise and commercial data, even in the age of AI.

Where does user’s data go and what does Microsoft see?

Microsoft’s dedication to data security and privacy within the enterprise remains unaltered, and Copilot automatically inherits the customers’ security, compliance, and privacy regulations for Microsoft 365.

Any information entered by a user, as well as the data retrieved from the prompts, and the resulting responses are kept within the Microsoft cloud. This is in accordance with Microsoft’s existing data security commitments. Find more info in the link section below.

 

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 Copilot embodies the integration of AI into Microsoft 365. By integrating LLMs with data in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft 365 Copilot will help users complete tasks more efficiently and effectively. The tool is set to launch in November 2023.

If you have any questions, just contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT for free expert consultancy on Microsoft licensing for your organization.

 

More information

 

FAQ

When will Microsoft 365 Copilot be available to users?

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available for enterprise customers since November 1, 2023. However, for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, the release date is scheduled “in the future.” Early Access to Copilot is available through an invitation-only Early Access Program for preselected Microsoft 365 subscribers.

What is the pricing and licensing model for Microsoft 365 Copilot?

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot is offered as an add-on license, priced at $30 per user per month. To acquire Copilot, a prerequisite is having Microsoft 365 E3/E5 plans with a minimum of 300 users.

Is there a free trial on Microsoft 365 Copilot?

  • No, Microsoft made it clear that there are no trials available for Copilot at general availability.

Through which channels will Microsoft 365 Copilot be available for licensing?

  • Initially, Microsoft 365 Copilot will be accessible through the Enterprise Agreement (EA), Enterprise Subscription Agreement (EAS), and Microsoft Customer Agreement – Enterprise (MCA-E) channels. Details regarding availability through the Direct and Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) channels will be announced in the coming months.

When will Microsoft 365 Copilot be available through CSP?

  • The availability of Microsoft 365 Copilot through CSP (Cloud Solution Provider program) will be announced in the coming months.

How can I download and implement Microsoft 365 Copilot?

  • The adoption guide for Microsoft 365 Copilot will be downloadable soon, guiding organizations in implementing Copilot’s capabilities. The steps involve ensuring an active Microsoft 365 E3/E5 subscription, purchasing the Copilot add-on, navigating to the “Billing” section in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, and managing technical requirements, features, permissions, and change management.

What distinguishes Microsoft 365 Copilot from Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat & Bing Chat Enterprise)?

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot differs by integrating AI into all Microsoft 365 Apps and offering enhanced data security. It utilizes company-specific data, ensuring more precise AI understanding compared to Bing Chat Enterprise.

What is Microsoft 365 Chat within Copilot?

  • Microsoft 365 Chat, previously Business Chat, acts as a comprehensive assistant within Copilot, offering deep insights into work-related data to proactively assist users with tasks and inquiries across various Microsoft 365 Apps.

How does Microsoft 365 Copilot operate within Microsoft 365 Apps?

  • Copilot integrates into key Microsoft 365 Apps, leveraging AI and Microsoft Graph data to perform tasks and respond to natural language prompts efficiently. It aims to unlock the untapped potential of Microsoft 365 Apps, making tasks more intuitive and robust for users.

What about the privacy and data usage within Microsoft 365 Copilot?

  • Microsoft maintains strict data privacy standards, ensuring customer data is not utilized for training Copilot’s models. Users’ data and interactions within Copilot are secured within the Microsoft cloud, aligning with Microsoft’s existing data security commitments.

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