Microsoft has recently announced Microsoft 365 Copilot, a product that aims to boost the creativity and efficiency of its flagship Office Suite with the raw power of AI. Using this new product can unlock a lot of new possibilities for your personal and business needs.
Keep reading till this end to find a detailed review of Office Copilot to help you decide whether you should give it a try or not!
Introduction to Microsoft Copilot
The Microsoft Office suite is famous worldwide for its applications that allow users to create documents, prepare slideshows, handle data with spreadsheets, and do a lot more. With the new surge of AI, Microsoft is now helping both businesses and individuals benefit from AI with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
The good thing about the new Office Copilot is that it offers the “Copilot” features to existing Microsoft 365 as an extension. You don’t necessarily need to rely on the new AI features. If needed, you can click on the “Copilot” icon in any of the Microsoft 365 apps to get started with it.
Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot was possible for Microsoft by partnering with OpenAI. The new Microsoft 365 Copilot runs on the GPT-4, the latest installment of the generative language model by OpenAI that provides significantly powerful results compared to GPT-3.
Using Microsoft 365 Copilot will enable its users to access all the latest features offered by GPT-4 developed by OpenAI. With AI doing tasks, both new and old users of Microsoft 365 Copilot can save a lot of time that is spent on routine activities.
How Microsoft 365 Copilot Works
The good thing about Microsoft 365 Copilot is that it does more than what you could do with the help of GPT-4 alone. Through the integration of Copilot in Microsoft 365, you can use your own specific data and use it with the power of AI to get promising results.
But how is Microsoft 365 Copilot able to do so? The short answer lies in the integration of the “Copilot System” that is created by Microsoft. The integration of the new system consists of the following:
GPT-4
Microsoft Graph
Microsoft 365 Suite
Whenever you launch a command with Microsoft 365 Copilot, your data is first sent to something called “Microsoft Graph.” The presence of this tool allows the system to understand your query. After breaking the query and understanding it properly, it is then sent back to GPT-4.
Having a filter between GPT-4 and the users allows Microsoft 365 Copilot to provide great answers to the queries of the users. The good thing about Microsoft Graph is that it comprises an API that is capable of exposing REST APIs.
With this functionality, the system can handle personal and professional queries alike. Microsoft also has a lot of data that can be used for personal and enterprise needs.
Features, Benefits, and Uses of Microsoft 365 Copilot
The biggest reason why Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting traction is that it contains all the apps users have been relying on for decades. This new software collaboration allows you to unleash the power of AI with the tools that people are familiar with.
The connection people have with Microsoft productivity apps gives Microsoft 365 Copilot a huge advantage over other AI products available in the market that cannot perform a multitude of tasks at the same time.
Microsoft Word
You can use copilot features in Microsoft Word. The integration of Copilot in MS Word can help you complete a ton of your tasks faster.
You no longer need to type anything from scratch when using Microsoft Word. Instead of spending hours and hours pushing yourself to get out of “writer’s block” and writing something, you can click on the “Copilot” button to get anything written in less than a minute.
The good thing about Copilot in Word is that it can also help you edit your writing. For example, if you have already written something, you can use Copilot to make changes to your writing in no time.
Microsoft Excel
Handling data can be a difficult task, even with the help of spreadsheets. Many people find it hard to apply formulas one by one and get meaningful insights from their data. Instead of waiting for a long time to get insights from data manually, you can automate the process with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
The copilot features are now added to Microsoft Excel. With the addition of this feature, you can analyze your data and explore it without having to use several tools at the same time. You don’t need to use a single “formula” to fetch results from Microsoft 365 Copilot.
The good thing about the copilot feature is that you can trigger it by simply writing down your need in natural language. For example, you can ask Copilot to “sum all the data values,” and it will do so within sixty seconds.
Another cool thing about Copilot is that it learns along with you. It can derive correlations from your previous usage record and find ideas for making sense of your data other than performing all tasks in Microsoft Excel that you used to do manually.
Microsoft PowerPoint
The creation of slideshows has always been hassle-free for users worldwide, thanks to Microsoft PowerPoint. However, things have just got even better with the integration of Copilot in Microsoft PowerPoint, making it better than ever before!
You can feed any document you want to copilot and ask it to turn that into a great slideshow presentation. Other than that, instead of adding transitions to individual slides one by one, you can just ask Copilot to do it for you.
Summarizing your lengthy presentation can take a lot of time. However, you can speed up the process now with the help of Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can also rely on Copilot to add relevant images to every single slide and help you save a lot of time.
Microsoft Outlook
Sending emails and managing all your personal and professional business needs has become even better with the integration of Copilot in Microsoft Outlook.
Copilot allows you to create emails on the go. You only need to give a simple command, and Copilot will produce amazing mail for you within minutes. Other than that, if you receive an email, you can also ask Copilot to produce a response for you.
Microsoft Teams
The process of handling personal and professional meetings online has now become even more efficient with the integration of Copilot of Microsoft Teams.
The good thing about the new integration is that it allows you to get a quick summary of the meeting if you joined late. You can also ask Copilot to generate a table of the pros and cons of the topic that is being discussed in the meeting.
Business Chat
Business Chat is a new platform launched with Microsoft 365 that will allow businesses to communicate more effectively than ever before.
The integration of Copilot in Business Chat will allow users to keep conversations engaging, meaningful, and actionable. It will also help managers to manage the workflow of assigned projects and ensure that everything is done on time.
Microsoft Viva
Enterprise management and building last relations with professionals has now become easier with the integration of Copilot in Microsoft Viva.
Copilot will now equip users to ensure that they ask relevant questions regarding workflow that help improve the processes. Other than that, Copilot can also aid with giving answers to the questions to keep the conversations meaningful.
How to Use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word?
Microsoft Word has now received a complete makeover with the integration of Copilot. It is now able to handle all sorts of your documentation needs, allowing you to have more free time by freeing you from content creation and documentation.
To access Copilot in Microsoft Word, you only need to click on the “Copilot” icon. Doing so will allow you to start your conversation with Copilot and enable you to get any task done within seconds. You can review, discard, and edit the suggestions you get from Copilot to keep you in control.
Is There Any Replacement for Microsoft 365 Copilot?
There’s no denying that Microsoft 365 Copilot is currently one of the most powerful tools in the market. But it doesn’t mean that you have to use it even if you are not willing to pay for a paid subscription option.
You can use any of the free productivity tools available in the market. For example, you can use Google Suite to get started with your personal and professional needs. But if you want to use an all-in-one office suite that comes with a lot of features, then you should consider using WPS Office.
The good thing about WPS Office is that it comes with a lot of features without costing you a single penny. It is compatible with all file formats and allows you to manage your workflow across devices, making it a choice for more than 500 million active users around the world.
You can utilize the power of GPT-4 with WPS Office and ensure that you can boost your productivity in no time.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 Copilot is definitely proving to be a game-changer for individuals and businesses around the world. But there are certain challenges that users might face when using it.
For example, Microsoft 365 Copilot cannot guarantee to provide accurate results all the time. It’s expected that Microsoft 365 Copilot will continuously improve over the months without continuous iterations.
