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Copilot and work AI

AI help for everyday work in Microsoft 365: Copilot Chat included with eligible licenses, the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on (its app is now named Microsoft Copilot) grounded in Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, and usage-billed Copilot Cowork and Copilot Code.

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Overview

Microsoft sells AI for office work in layers. Copilot Chat comes with eligible Microsoft 365 licenses and answers mainly from the web, plus files a user uploads or content open in Outlook and Teams. The paid Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on adds automatic grounding in work data through Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, priority access, and the full Copilot experience in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Copilot Cowork and Copilot Code (in the Frontier program) sit on top and are billed by usage.

Names are shifting. Microsoft Learn now says the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is called Microsoft Copilot and the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat app is called Microsoft Copilot Chat, while many product pages still use the older names. This guide mentions both.

Copilot only returns content a user can already open, so most preparation is about permissions: finding overshared SharePoint sites, archiving stale ones and applying Purview sensitivity labels.

You may not need the paid add-on for staff who mostly draft text and research the web. Copilot Chat covers that, and pay-as-you-go agents can reach work data for specific tasks.123

Problems it addresses

  • Knowing what each tier includes1

    The four Copilot experiences differ in work-data grounding, access to Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and admin controls. Mapping roles to tiers avoids paying for features people will not use.

  • Oversharing shows up in answers2

    Because Copilot respects existing permissions, content shared too widely becomes easy to find. SharePoint Advanced Management reports on overshared sites and can restrict content discovery for high-risk ones.

  • Retiring stopgaps4

    Restricted SharePoint Search was a temporary allow list. New enablement has been blocked since July 31, 2026, and Microsoft points to Restricted Content Discovery instead.

  • Proving adoption1

    Leaders want evidence of use. Microsoft provides a Copilot Chat usage report and a separate Microsoft Copilot usage report for in-app use in Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

  • Data protection questions1

    Copilot experiences carry Enterprise Data Protection when users sign in with Microsoft Entra accounts, and EU traffic stays within the EU Data Boundary.

A typical workflow

  1. Turn on Copilot Chat1

    Make sure people sign in with Microsoft Entra accounts so Enterprise Data Protection applies, and allow the copilot.cloud.microsoft endpoints through proxies and firewalls.

  2. Assess content exposure2

    Run the SharePoint Advanced Management Content Management Assessment and the data access governance reports to find overshared, inactive and ownerless sites.

  3. Label sensitive files5

    Apply Purview sensitivity labels. When a label encrypts content, Copilot returns it only to users who hold both VIEW and EXTRACT rights.

  4. License a pilot group1

    Assign Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) licenses to a pilot group so Copilot can draw on their emails, files, meetings and chats.

  5. Measure and expand1

    Track active users and prompts in the usage reports, then use organizational messages to guide people toward useful scenarios.

Technologies

  • Add-on

    Microsoft 365 Copilot

    Microsoft 365 Copilot, now named Microsoft Copilot on Microsoft's licensing pages, is the paid AI assistant for work in Microsoft 365. It grounds answers in a user's emails, files, meetings and chats through Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, and works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and the Copilot app.

    • Copilot and apps
    • AI
    • Data
  • Cloud application

    Microsoft Copilot Chat

    Microsoft Copilot Chat, formerly Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, is the secure AI chat included with eligible Microsoft 365 licenses. It is grounded mainly in the web, works on files users provide, runs agents, and carries enterprise data protection when people sign in with a work account.

    • Copilot and apps
    • AI
  • Suite

    Microsoft 365 E7

    Microsoft 365 E7, which Microsoft calls The Frontier Suite, is a per-user license that adds Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Agent 365 and the Microsoft Entra Suite on top of everything in Microsoft 365 E5. It became generally available on 1 May 2026 and is sold with and without Teams.

    • Programs
    • Security
    • Agents
    • Copilot and apps

Use cases

Documented implementations

Copilot Readiness Check

Is your organization ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot, and what to fix first.

Open the lab

Next steps

  1. List the five most common drafting and research tasks in each team and try them in Copilot Chat before buying add-on licenses.

  2. Run the SharePoint Content Management Assessment and fix the overshared sites it flags.

  3. If Restricted SharePoint Search is switched on, plan its replacement with Restricted Content Discovery.

  4. Run the Copilot Readiness Check for a tier recommendation per team.

Connected areas

Sources

  1. What is Microsoft Copilot? (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Vendor-reported
  2. Get ready for Microsoft Copilot with SharePoint Advanced Management (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Vendor-reported
  3. Overview of Microsoft Copilot Chat (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Vendor-reported
  4. Restricted SharePoint Search (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Vendor-reported
  5. Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft 365 Copilot and other generative AI apps (opens in a new tab)Microsoft · Vendor-reported

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