Are you ready to activate Microsoft Copilot?
You're at the right place.
Following its expanded partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft has significantly expanded its focus on AI solutions for work, collaboration, and communication.
Microsoft Copilot, often referred to as "Copilot," is Microsoft's AI assistant designed to assist users within the Microsoft ecosystem. Developed using the latest OpenAI LLM technology, it empowers professionals to integrate generative AI into their daily tasks.
With the promise to enhance Copilot's capabilities across a wide range of Microsoft resources, including Microsoft Word, Outlook, and the Teams collaboration platform, Microsoft is making it more accessible.
This comprehensive tutorial will teach you all you need to know about turning on Copilot for Microsoft products if you haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
Remarkably, Copilot is accessible to consumers as of this writing and will be made available to business clients on November 1st, 2023.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Before we delve into the process of enabling Microsoft Copilot, let's begin with a brief introduction to its technology and operational principles. As mentioned earlier, Copilot is an AI assistant developed by Microsoft and harnessing the power of advanced large language models.
One of the key aspects that make Microsoft Copilot particularly appealing to businesses seeking generative AI solutions is its capacity to integrate with Microsoft Graph and various other Microsoft tools seamlessly. This translates to Copilot's ability to access information from different parts of the Microsoft ecosystem.
For instance, while composing an email using Copilot within Outlook, you can retrieve notes and data from SharePoint, Meetings, and various Microsoft Office tools.
The primary goal of Copilot is to streamline workflows, enhance productivity and efficiency, and elevate performance across all aspects of the digital workplace. It has received highly positive feedback from early testers and is scheduled for a full-scale rollout to enterprise users in November 2023.
It's important to note that Copilot offers accessibility through two distinct avenues. First, businesses can harness Copilot's generative AI capabilities within the tools they already utilize, such as Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. Additionally, Copilot is also integrated into the "Business Chat" or "Bing Chat" solution, making it available to all Microsoft users.
Pricing for Microsoft Copilot
Prior to activating Microsoft Copilot across your applications and software, you must complete several essential actions, beginning with the acquisition of a license. Regrettably, despite speculations that Microsoft might offer Copilot as a complimentary service integrated into its tools, this expectation does not align with reality.
Microsoft Copilot is free for users to use and is still in preview. Microsoft has stated that the monthly cost for commercial clients will be $30 (RM144) per user, while the exact price has not yet been disclosed.
It is crucial to remember that Microsoft Copilot is restricted to business users who have certain Office 365 subscriptions, such as E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium. Therefore, unless you have one of these subscriptions, you might not be able to utilize Microsoft Copilot even if you are a business client.
Where to Activate Microsoft Copilot?
To initiate Microsoft Copilot, you can proceed as follows:
Confirm Your Eligibility: Presently, Copilot is accessible to consumers and enterprise customers holding specific Office 365 subscriptions. To verify your eligibility, visit the Microsoft Copilot website and log in with your Microsoft account.
Activate Copilot If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can activate Copilot within the settings of your desired Microsoft products. For instance, to activate Copilot in Word, navigate to File > Options > Editor > Suggestions with Copilot and switch on the "Enable suggestions with Copilot" toggle.
Get Started with Copilot Once Copilot is activated, you can begin using it to assist you in various tasks. For instance, you can request Copilot's assistance in composing emails, creating presentations, or generating content for your projects.
Here are some specific examples of where you can activate Microsoft Copilot:
Word: To enable Copilot in Word, go to File > Options > Editor > Suggestions with Copilot and turn on the Enable suggestions with Copilot toggle.
Excel: To enable Copilot input Excel, go to File > Options > Excel Options > Add-Ins and click the Go button next to Manage add-ins. In the Manage Add-Ins dialog box, select the Copilot add-in and click Enable.
PowerPoint: To enable Copilot in PowerPoint, go to File > Options > PowerPoint Options > Add-Ins and click the Go button next to Manage add-ins. In the Manage Add-Ins dialog box, select the Copilot add-in and click Enable.
Outlook: To enable Copilot in Outlook, go to File > Options > Mail > Compose Messages and turn on the Enable suggestions with Copilot toggle.
Teams: To enable Copilot in Teams, go to your Profile picture in the top right corner of the app and select Settings > Privacy > Copilot. Turn on the Enable Copilot toggle.
What You Need Before Enabling Microsoft Copilot
There are specific requirements for understanding how to activate Microsoft Copilot. Initially, you must possess a subscription for both Copilot and an approved plan. Currently, this necessitates a Microsoft 365 E5 or E3 account, along with the following prerequisites:
Access to Microsoft 365 apps designed for enterprise use.
Entra IDs (formerly known as Azure Active Directory accounts) for all users.
Access to Microsoft OneDrive, which is essential for features like file restoration.
Furthermore, to utilize Microsoft Copilot within Microsoft Outlook, Teams, or Microsoft Loop, you must ensure that these solutions are available and activated for your tenant.
In addition to this, user devices that intend to access Microsoft Copilot must be on either the "Monthly Enterprise channel" or the "Current Channel." Copilot will initially be introduced into the Current Channel in November 2023 before being extended to the Enterprise channel a month later.
From a network perspective, Copilot services will establish connections with endpoints specified in the Microsoft 365 endpoint taxonomy. Microsoft strongly recommends aligning your network with the Microsoft 365 connectivity principles outlined here to minimize latency.
Because various Copilot functionalities, such as those in Loop, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, rely on WebSocket connections, it's necessary to enable WebSocket connections as well.
Is Enabling Microsoft Copilot for Business a Secure Choice?
Enabling Microsoft Copilot within a corporate environment is seen as a safe decision. Microsoft has developed Copilot with a strong emphasis on security and privacy, building upon its pre-existing dedication to safeguarding data within the business sector.
Here are some of the security features of Microsoft Copilot:
Data isolation: Copilot does not access or store any customer data. All prompts and responses are processed within the customer's tenant, and no data is shared with Microsoft or other customers.
Compliance: Copilot is compliant with a variety of industry standards and regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the European Union (EU) Data Boundary.
Permissions: Copilot permissions are managed through the Microsoft 365 admin console, giving organizations full control over who can access and use Copilot.
Auditing: Copilot activity is logged and audited so organizations can track how Copilot is being used and identify any potential security risks.
Apart from these security enhancements, Microsoft provides several support resources to aid organizations in the secure implementation and utilization of Copilot. This includes training, documentation, and recommended procedures.
In summary, Microsoft Copilot for Business is a dependable option for enhancing organizational productivity and efficiency. Nonetheless, it's crucial to ensure secure usage by adhering to Microsoft's prescribed best practices.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the activation of Microsoft Copilot offers businesses a promising pathway to enhanced productivity and efficiency. Microsoft's strong commitment to data security and privacy ensures that Copilot is a secure choice for the corporate environment. With features like data isolation, compliance with industry standards, meticulous permission management, and comprehensive auditing, Microsoft Copilot prioritizes safety.
FAQs
What are some of the benefits of using Microsoft Copilot for business?
Microsoft Copilot can help businesses in a number of ways, including:
Increased productivity and efficiency: Copilot can help employees complete tasks more quickly and efficiently by assisting with writing, editing, and generating content.
Improved quality of work: Copilot can help employees improve the quality of their work by providing suggestions and feedback on their writing and content.
Reduced workload: Copilot can help to reduce the workload on employees by taking over some of the more repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
Enhanced creativity and innovation: Copilot can help employees to be more creative and innovative by providing them with new ideas and perspectives.
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost?
What are the requirements for enabling Microsoft Copilot?