Assist With AI
Start with the information your task needs. Use Copilot Chat for a question, draft, or analysis based on public information or material you provide. Choose the licensed work-context experience of Microsoft 365 Copilot when the work depends on your permitted Microsoft 365 files, email, meetings, or chats across supported experiences.
Choose By The Work
| Need | Better starting point | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Explore a topic or shape a first draft from information you provide | Copilot Chat | Compare two approaches using a brief you attach. |
| Catch up on your work across Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) | Find the decisions in meetings, messages, and files you can access. |
| Repeat a question against a defined knowledge source | An agent in either experience, depending on access and billing | Answer a team's onboarding questions from its maintained guidance. |
Microsoft 365 Copilot also handles general questions and drafting. Copilot Chat can use selected organizational sources through agents and other configured experiences. These are overlapping ways to do work, not separate lists of permitted tasks. Microsoft's Copilot overview and agent cost guidance describe the current access and billing distinctions.
Check The Information Behind The Answer
The licensed work-context experience respects the user's permissions. That makes excessive access, stale files, and unclear ownership practical problems: Copilot may find information a person can access but should no longer use. Check the cited source and its date before sharing or acting on an answer. See Permissions And Ownership and governance for SharePoint sharing.
An answer can sound certain while missing context or using an outdated document. Open the source, confirm the relevant facts, and keep the decision with the person responsible for the work.
Account For The License
Copilot Chat is included with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Limited standard access in supported Microsoft 365 apps can also be available without a Copilot add-on. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) experience, which automatically uses permitted work context, requires the add-on. See Microsoft's experience comparison.
An agent that uses shared organizational data can incur Copilot Credits for a user without that add-on. Eligibility and included features vary; use the central licensing guide before promising access to a team.