Copilot just released a new version for Microsoft 365 and is harnessing the power of large language models (LLMs) and combining it with your organization’s data to turn your words into a potent productivity tool. Microsoft 365 Copilot brings the power of AI to your Microsoft apps, such as Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Word. This enables users to boost their creativity, productivity, and skills, all within their workflow. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through how to install, enable, and use Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to its full potential.

Looking for alternative tools to Copilot? Scroll to the end of this blog article!

Accessing Microsoft Copilot: Eligibility and Requirements

Microsoft Copilot is a sought-after feature among organizations that utilize Microsoft 365. To access this tool, you need to fulfill certain requirements, which include certain license prerequisites, and also the versions of Microsoft Apps you are using.

License Requirements

Your subscription plan dictates your accessibility to Microsoft Copilot. The add-on plan for Copilot for Microsoft 365 requires you to have one of the following licensing prerequisites:

• Microsoft 365 E5

• Microsoft 365 E3

• Office 365 E3

• Office 365 E5

• Microsoft 365 A5 for faculty

• Microsoft 365 A3 for faculty

• Office 365 A5 for faculty

• Office 365 A3 for faculty

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium

You can assign the required licenses to users via the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Apps

Microsoft Copilot functions with individual Microsoft 365 Apps to provide a seamless, integrated experience:

• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint: Microsoft Copilot works on both online and desktop versions of these apps. However, for the online versions, it is essential to have third-party cookies enabled. Copilot is expected to support the classic Outlook for Windows (Win32 desktop app) in future, which you can track through the roadmap item.
  
  

• Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Copilot is available on Microsoft Teams across Windows, Mac, web, Android, and iOS. To ensure Copilot can reference meeting content in Teams even after the meeting ended, transcription or meeting recording must be activated.
  
  

• Microsoft Outlook: Currently, Microsoft Copilot functions with the new Outlook for Windows and Mac. Users can access this by choosing 'Try the new Outlook' in their existing Outlook client. To integrate Microsoft Copilot into your new Outlook, you need to sync your Microsoft 365 settings, which you can do under 'View and Manage your Microsoft 365 settings'.
  
  

• Microsoft Loop and Microsoft Whiteboard: To optimize Microsoft Copilot with Microsoft Loop and Microsoft Whiteboard, make sure these features are enabled for your tenant. This can be managed within the Microsoft 365 admin center or Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.

Regardless of the specific application you use, keep in mind that to get the most out of Microsoft Copilot, you should align your network with Microsoft 365 network connectivity principles. This will aid in minimizing latency and boosting the network quality of service, thus enhancing your Copilot experience.

Finally, be aware that Microsoft Copilot currently lacks support for Restricted Access Control and Microsoft Purview Information Barriers on sites. However, this functionality is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

Installing Microsoft Copilot

Getting Microsoft Copilot up and running on your device is a straightforward process. Here's how:

1. Log in to your Microsoft account on the official website.
   
   

2. Navigate to the download page and click the “Download” button.
   
   

3. Run the downloaded file and follow the instructions on the screen.
   
   

4. Once installed, open Microsoft Copilot and sign in with your credentials.
   
   

Congratulations, you've successfully installed Microsoft Copilot! Now, let's move on to enabling it.

Enabling Microsoft Copilot

To make the most out of Copilot, you need to enable it. Here are the steps:

1. Open a Microsoft Office app such as Word or Excel.
   
   

2. Click the “File” menu at the top-left of the screen.
   
   

3. Select “Options” from the drop-down menu.
   
   

4. In the window that appears, navigate to the “Advanced” tab.
   
   

5. Scroll down until you see the “Editor Options” section.
   
   

6. Tick the box next to “Enable Copilot.”
   
   

7. Click “OK” to save your changes and activate Copilot.
   
   

Now Copilot is enabled and ready to assist you with improved auto-complete suggestions, real-time grammar, and spelling advice.

Using Microsoft Copilot

With Microsoft Copilot enabled, you're all set to enhance your productivity. Here's how you can use it:

1. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials, then open the settings menu and enable Copilot.
   
   

2. Launch any supported Microsoft application such as Word, PowerPoint, or Excel. The Copilot panel will appear on the right-hand side of the screen.
   
   

3. As you type, Copilot will generate relevant suggestions based on context and previous patterns. Select these from the panel to speed up your workflow.
   
   

4. You can customize these suggestions to suit your preferences by adjusting the settings.
   
   

5. Provide feedback through the user interface to help improve the accuracy of Copilot.
   
   

Need more help? Check out the video demo below for a visual guide on using Microsoft Copilot.

Looking for similar AI tools like Copilot?

Try MailMaestro today!

While Microsoft Copilot certainly comes with its own set of benefits, we invite you to consider MailMaestro, our innovative app that, like Copilot, assists with your writing tasks, but with a particular focus on email writing.

MailMaestro stands out for a number of reasons.

• Firstly, MailMaestro is faster at generating messages compared to Copilot, ensuring that you can send out those important emails in a timely manner.
  
  

• Secondly, MailMaestro is better than Copilot at summarizing emails. MailMaestro doesn't just give you key and action points from your emails, but it also summarizes PDF and Word attachments, which Copilot doesn't do. Plus, you can translate these summaries into your language with MailMaestro. These tools can really help when you're dealing with lots of emails and need to quickly figure out what to do next.
  
  

• In terms of customization options, MailMaestro again takes the lead by offering language, tone, and length options for better personalization of your emails and summaries. This is in contrast to Copilot, which only provides tone and length adjustments.
  
  

• Moreover, MailMaestro also offers a helpful prompt history, magic templates, and text shortcuts that improve the emailing experience. The prompt history feature keeps a record of past email topics for easy access and reference. With magic templates, users can choose from ready-made templates for various situations - all they need to do is fill in the requested details and MailMaestro takes care of crafting the perfect email. The text shortcuts are a time-saver too as it lets users save frequent details as 'snippets' and add shortcuts to them. For example, typing '!directions' could automatically insert your office directions into your email.
  
  

• Lastly, but certainly not least, MailMaestro is more affordable than Copilot. We offer subscription plans as low as $6/month, compared to Copilot's $30/month.
  
  

  • Plus, we offer a 2-week free trial unlike Copilot, giving you ample time to experience the benefits of MailMaestro before you decide to subscribe.

    
    

So why wait? Try MailMaestro today and elevate your productivity to new heights. Start your 2-week trial now!