Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is the company's everyday AI assistant, built into Windows, Edge, the web and mobile apps. It answers questions with current web information, drafts and rewrites text, summarises documents and creates images — and it can work with your files and browsing context when you allow it, so the help stays grounded in what you are actually doing rather than starting from scratch each time.

What sets Copilot apart from a standalone chatbot is where it lives: it is woven through Microsoft's products, from the Copilot app on Windows to Edge's sidebar and the Microsoft 365 apps. It offers voice interaction, image generation and deeper reasoning modes, and it keeps improving as Microsoft swaps in newer models behind the same assistant. For anyone already working in Windows or Microsoft 365, Copilot is the shortest path from a question to a finished draft, summary or image — no new app to open, no separate subscription to manage for the basics.

Plans: Copilot itself is free. The consumer paid plan is now Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month ($199.99 a year), which replaced the retired Copilot Pro and adds priority access to newer models, faster image creation and Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, plus the Office apps and extra storage. Microsoft 365 Pro is the top consumer tier at $99.99 a month. Business plans bundle Copilot into Microsoft 365 at $30 per user per month on top of a base licence — check Microsoft's official pricing page for current rates.

Best for: Windows and Microsoft 365 users who want a capable free assistant already where they work, with an easy upgrade path into Office apps. Watch out: the free tier's model access and image-generation speed are limited compared with the paid plans, and the richest features assume you live inside Microsoft's ecosystem.

Pros

• Free with a Microsoft account, built into Windows, Edge, the web and mobile apps, so it is already where you work.
• Answers questions with current web information, drafts and rewrites text, summarises documents and creates images.
• Voice interaction, image generation and deeper reasoning modes, with newer models arriving behind the same assistant.

Watch out for

• The free tier's model access and image-generation speed are limited compared with the paid plans.
• The richest features assume you live inside Microsoft's ecosystem — it is weakest outside Windows and Microsoft 365.
• Business pricing varies; check Microsoft's official pricing page for current business rates.

Best for

People who already do their daily work in Windows, Edge and the Microsoft 365 apps and want the assistant built into those tools, rather than a separate chatbot they have to open. Who should skip it: users who avoid the Microsoft ecosystem, or anyone who wants a standalone assistant that is not tied to Windows or Office.

Pricing

Copilot itself is free with a Microsoft account. The consumer paid plan is Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month ($199.99 a year) — it replaced the retired Copilot Pro (support ended August 2026) and adds priority access to newer models, faster image creation and Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, plus the Office apps. Microsoft 365 Pro is the top consumer tier at $99.99 a month. Microsoft 365 Copilot for business is $30 per user per month on top of a base licence; check Microsoft's official pricing page for current rates.

Example

A Windows user highlights a long PDF in Edge and asks Copilot to summarise it in five bullet points, then has it draft a reply email in Outlook and generate a header image for the presentation — all without leaving the apps she already uses.

FAQs

Is Microsoft Copilot free? Yes, Copilot itself is free with a Microsoft account.

Where does it appear? In Windows, Edge, the web and mobile apps, and inside Microsoft 365 apps on paid plans.

What does Microsoft 365 Premium add? Priority access to newer models, faster image creation and Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote — plus the Office apps and extra storage. Premium replaced the retired Copilot Pro.

What is the Premium price? $19.99 a month ($199.99 a year); the top consumer tier, Microsoft 365 Pro, is $99.99 a month. Business bundle rates differ, so check Microsoft's official pricing page.

Reviewed / last checked: November 10, 2026.