In 2025 Microsoft rebranded and reorganized tools. This article will explain the changes made, what Copilot is and where you can find it.
Microsoft 365
This is the name of what was once called Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office 365.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Copilot Chat (Basic) is available to all Microsoft users. By logging into Copilot Chat using university credentials your data is provided enterprise level protection, and your data is not used to train Microsoft's AI. The Chat AI bases its information on public web-based content and information. Information can be uploaded to the chat from your computer or your OneDrive account. Agents have been created for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint that can be used in Copilot Chat to enhance document generation.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat Premium
Copilot Premium is a paid add-on license that is available to faculty and staff at the university at an additional cost to the department or unit. Copilot Premium unlocks the full power of AI in the Microsoft 365 environment and has direct access to your work content. Copilot Premium bases its answers on public web-based content but also has access to any Microsoft 365 data like emails, meetings, chats and shared documents. Copilot Premium has extensive app integration such as Teams, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Copilot Premium can summarize entire meetings that were attended and even those that were missed. Custom and prebuilt agents can be used to extend the capabilities of the Chat AI tool.
