Microsoft just gave its premium artificial intelligence chatbot Copilot Pro a big feature upgrade, offering access to AI features in the 365 web apps without needing an extra subscription.
Previously the only way to access any of the Copilot AI features in tools like Word, Excel and Powerpoint was to have a subscription to Microsoft 365 and a Copilot Pro subscription.
While it doesn’t give you full access to Copilot in the actual Microsoft 365 apps, it does allow you to use the functionality — such as turning a Word doc into a PowerPoint presentation — inside the web app versions of Microsoft’s flagship productivity tools.
Microsoft is also offering the first month free to new users signing up to Copilot Pro for the first time. This is likely in response to Google offering three months free for Gemini Advanced.
What is new in Copilot Pro?
Competition is growing more fierce in the premium conversational AI sector, with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and even Perplexity offering paid plans. To stand out companies are having to get more creative, including with the features and added extras.
Copilot is built on the same technology as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and so is competing with the early adopter, brand loyalty of that platform. Its biggest differentiator is integration with the 365 office suite as even th image generator is base don DALL-E.
As well as offering access to the web apps, Microsoft has introduced GPT Builder and GPTs for Copilot Pro. This is a custom chatbot feature that has been in ChatGPT since last year, but unlike ChatGPT free users can try out any GPT shared by those on a Pro plan.
Why is Copilot in 365 a big deal?
It is difficult to understand how impressive Copilot features in Microsoft’s office products are until you’ve tried it out for yourself. It allows you to perform tasks in a fraction of the time it would have done if you’d completed it without AI, massively boosting productivity.
For example you could lay out the contents of a PowerPoint presentation in Word and with a simple prompt convert that document into a full, interactive presentation.
It is also impressive when it comes to data retrieval and analysis. If you have a large number of reports to sift through and find a piece of information, just ask Copilot and it will find it for you, look for trends related to that piece of information, add it to a spreadsheet and make a graph.
