Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's AI assistant integrated across Windows, Office 365, and development tools.
Definition
Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant powered by OpenAI models, embedded throughout Microsoft's product ecosystem. It manifests as Copilot in Windows (system-wide assistant), Microsoft 365 Copilot (Office productivity), GitHub Copilot (code generation), and various Azure AI services.
Each Copilot variant is specialized for its context—understanding documents in Word, data in Excel, code in VS Code, or system tasks in Windows.
Why It Matters
Microsoft's Copilot strategy makes advanced AI available within tools billions already use daily. For enterprises on Microsoft 365, Copilot represents the most accessible path to AI-augmented work.
Understanding Copilot capabilities helps organizations plan AI adoption within existing technology investments.
Examples in Practice
A sales team uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to automatically summarize email threads, draft responses, and prepare meeting summaries—reclaiming hours weekly from administrative tasks.
A finance department uses Copilot in Excel to analyze complex datasets, generate formulas from natural language requests, and create visualizations without spreadsheet expertise.