Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant: a free chat app for questions, writing and web search, with deeper features inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook if you pay for Microsoft 365 Personal. It's for founders who already run their business on Microsoft's tools. Microsoft 365 Personal is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a one-month free trial and 50% off for verified students.
What it can do for you
Use the free app for quick answers with web results, summaries and drafts. With Microsoft 365 Personal, Copilot can draft a document in Word, summarise a long email thread in Outlook, help with formulas in Excel and turn notes into slides in PowerPoint, all inside the files you're working on.
What people like
Reddit users find the free app fine for basic chat, search and summaries. The real praise is for having AI inside Office, where your documents already are, rather than copying text between apps.
The honest downsides
- Weaker as a standalone chatbot. In Reddit comparisons, users generally rate ChatGPT stronger for complex reasoning, detailed writing and coding.
- Confusing product names. Free Copilot, Copilot in Microsoft 365 Personal and business Microsoft 365 Copilot are different things, and even admins on Reddit struggle to explain them.
- Free limits aren't published. Microsoft only says paid plans get higher usage.
- AI features are for the subscription owner. Microsoft says Copilot in Personal is only for the account holder, not others sharing the plan.
Skip it if
- you don't use Word, Excel or Outlook
- you want the strongest free chatbot for writing or code
Alternatives
- Better pick for a free standalone assistant: ChatGPT. Reddit comparisons usually rate it stronger for writing and reasoning, and its free plan gives unlimited everyday text chats. Copilot still wins if you pay for Microsoft 365 and want AI inside your documents.
- Google Gemini is the equivalent if you work in Google Docs and Gmail.
Some links may be affiliate links. They help keep WebTools.directory running at no extra cost to you.
Comments