Copilot 101: What You Need To Know About Microsoft’s AI Assistant

While ChatGPT may be one of the most recognizable AI chatbots out there, the competition has become so fierce that many other companies have developed their own versions. One of them is Copilot, Microsoft’s proprietary AI chatbot and assistant in one. First introduced in February 2023, the tool was eventually incorporated later in the year into the tech giant’s product suite, starting with Windows 11. It was then integrated into Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, as well as Microsoft Edge and Microsoft 365.

Running OpenAI’s most advanced Large Language Model or LLM, Copilot is said to be a powerful ChatGPT alternative. But how does it fare against other AI chatbots and can it help you boost your productivity? Read on to know!

From Microsoft Official Newsroom

How you can use Copilot

Copilot works similarly to your everyday generative AI chatbot. Much like ChatGPT and Gemini, it can generate text and images for you. However, chats with Microsoft’s AI companion can be customized according to conversation styles—More Precise, More Creative, and More Balanced—for a more personalized experience. Copilot also has built-in Dall-E integration, so image generation is more precise and aligned with the prompts you key in.

What makes Copilot a robust AI option is its overall integration with the Microsoft suite of products. More than summarizing documents, coding, and making dinner reservations, Copilot can open apps for you, adjust your computer’s settings with just a few commands, and even empty the Recycle Bin—saving you time and a few clicks.

Copilot’s functionality on the Microsoft 365 suite is a gamechanger. In Word, you can create an initial writing draft which you can easily tweak. On Excel, you can use it to analyze trends seamlessly and create data visualizations within minutes. If your email inbox is bloated, you can benefit from its inbox-clearing functions. If you and your colleagues use Teams for meetings, Copilot can summarize key discussion points and even generate suggested action items.

Copilot vs other AI chatbots

Other than software integration, Copilot has other noteworthy advantages over its competitors. According to reports, it presents more up-to-date information compared to ChatGPT and Gemini, and even cites links (from Bing, of course) for easier referencing. In addition, any questions you may ask will yield not only text-based results but also accompanying visuals. That way, the information you need is easier to scan, instead of just reading through a wall of text.

One of Copilot’s downsides, though, is its website. It’s not as intuitive as ChatGPT’s or Gemini’s interfaces. In addition, you’re only limited to five responses in one conversation, and you’re only allowed up to 2,000 characters in one prompt. The other two chatbots, though, don’t have this limitation, allowing you to create unlimited prompts to help you generate ideas or images.

The next upgrade in AI

AI is definitely here to stay and with tools like Copilot, we’re anticipating more OS developers incorporating these useful tools into the systems and machines we use in our day-to-day. And while there’s nothing like the human brain when it comes to generating concepts and output for our daily tasks, introducing AI into your productivity workflow can be greatly helpful in making things easier, seamless, and even smarter.