Copilot

Microsoft's AI assistant integrated into their ecosystem, formerly known as Bing Chat.

$30/user/month (M365 Copilot, annual) / $21 Copilot Business / consumer Copilot free

My take

Microsoft botched this and it's no wonder very few people use it. The problem: it's not productized well. It's not as configurable and personalizable and doesn't learn as cleverly as ChatGPT and the likes. It doesn't interact cleverly with other software, amazingly not even with Microsoft products. Claude is better at Excel and Powerpoint than Microsoft's own assistant. High time for Microsoft to catch up!

Visit Copilot Back to tools

At a Glance

Pros

+ Built into Windows and Office apps
+ Enterprise data protection, also in free Copilot Chat for work accounts
+ Access to web browsing and image generation

Cons

− Poor productization and UX
− Doesn't learn or personalize as well as ChatGPT
− Surprisingly poor integration with Microsoft's own products

Best for: Enterprise environments already locked into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

If Copilot is what your company gave you

Everything in my take above stands — and none of it should stop you from using Copilot seriously if it’s the tool your company sanctioned. Underneath the clunky packaging runs a frontier-class model, and the enterprise deployment has one advantage no private ChatGPT account can match: you’re actually allowed to use it on real work material. The tool you’re permitted to use on real work beats the better tool you’re not.

On cost: Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user and month, billed annually. Small businesses can add Copilot Business for $21 (a promotional $18 runs through 31 December 2026). Consumer Copilot is free, and Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans include it. Free Copilot Chat for work accounts on eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions has the same enterprise data protection as the paid tier.

Microsoft is renaming Microsoft 365 Copilot to “Microsoft Copilot”, and since August 2026 Word lets you pick Claude Sonnet 5 for complex tasks. Copilot Cowork (formerly Tasks) delegates multi-step work.

For many employed people, this is the situation: ChatGPT and Claude are blocked at work, and Copilot is what’s there. If that’s you, I’ve written a full guide on making the most of it — including the two-track approach of learning on private tools with private material while applying the same skills at work: Your Company Blocked ChatGPT. Now What?