What’s the Difference Between Copilot and Copilot for Microsoft 365?
Copilot is a general AI assistant designed to help users with a variety of tasks, such as drafting emails, generating content, and answering questions. It is web-grounded, meaning it primarily uses information from the web to provide responses. On the other hand, Copilot for Microsoft 365 is specifically integrated with Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It leverages the Microsoft Graph, which includes data from emails, chats, documents, and meetings that users have permission to access.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 has a higher level of contextual awareness compared to the general Copilot. It uses the semantic index generated from content in Microsoft Graph to create contextually relevant responses. For example, in Microsoft Word, it can help draft documents by pulling relevant information from your emails and other documents. In contrast, the general Copilot relies on broader web searches and does not have access to the specific organizational data that Microsoft 365 Copilot uses.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed with enterprise data protection and commercial data protection (shield) in mind. It adheres to strict security, compliance, and privacy standards, ensuring that only authorized data is accessed and used. This includes features like role-based access controls and responsible AI checks.
Figure 1: Commercial Data Protection – Shield
The Key Difference between Copilot and Microsoft Copilot for M365
Microsoft Copilot for the Web is Free
Microsoft launched their rebranded AI tool from Bing Chat into Copilot. Here are a couple specifics on how Copilot is different from Copilot for M365.
- Copilot for the Web is rebranded Bing Chat, so if you search on any browser for Bing Chat and click on the link, it will take you Copilot. Remember, Bing Chat is basically Microsoft’s ChatGPT, and the basic Copilot LLM is no different. (Check out Microsoft’s page to see how you can use it appropriately).
- Copilot is free. As long as you have a Microsoft account, you can access basic Copilot (BingChat).
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a Licensed Integration Into Your M365 Applications
Now, there are features all over this licensed integration, but for the most part Copilot for Microsoft 365 is the most intelligent way to automate and create without having to produce much work. It all depends on how strong your Microsoft Graph is.
Here are a couple specifics on how Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is different from basic Copilot:
- Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a licensed product. Pricing for the product is $30 per user, per month for a total of $360 per year.
- Copilot for Microsoft 365 can be integrated into all the Microsoft 365 application you currently use. It will automate tasks from Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, Outlook, etc.
- Copilot for M365 is more than just a large language model (LLM), it builds on the Microsoft Graph you have built. Copilot can access documents when you ask it to produce something for you. “Create a PowerPoint for me that summarizes our company goals” would access documents linked to that query from your graph to create the deliverable for you.
- You have the option to have Copilot retrieve information from either the “Web” or from “Work.” Anything queried while toggled to “Web” will indicate to Copilot that it needs to search the internet for information, NOT your internal Microsoft Graph. Once toggled to “Work,” Copilot will only access from your Graph.
Here is a comparison table of the differences between Copilot for the Web and Copilot for Microsoft 365:
| Feature | Copilot for the Web | Copilot for Microsoft 365 |
| Data Source | Searches the internet | Accesses Microsoft Graph |
| Primary Use | General information retrieval | Work-related tasks and document creation |
| Integration | Standalone usage | Integrated with Microsoft 365 applications |
| Examples of Usage | Finding external information, articles, and web-based data | Automating tasks in Word, like drafting reports, creating presentations in PowerPoint, generating spreadsheets in Excel, scheduling meetings in Outlook, and summarizing chat conversations in Teams. In Financial Services, it can be used to generate financial reports, analyze market trends, and manage client communications. In Industrials, it helps in project management, creating technical documentation, and streamlining supply chain communications. |
| Toggle Options | Web only | Work / Web  |
Links
Leave a Reply