Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft Corporation's AI companion and answer engine that searches the web via the Bing search service and summarizes what it finds into cited, conversational answers. It runs on a freemium model with a genuine free tier; the premium AI experience is bundled into the Microsoft 365 Premium subscription, which starts at $19.99 per month.
Who builds it
Microsoft Copilot is built by Microsoft Corporation and available at copilot.microsoft.com, alongside Copilot experiences woven into Windows, Edge, Bing, and the Microsoft 365 apps.
What it does
Copilot answers questions by generating a search query, sending it to the Bing search service for grounding, and summarizing the results into a conversational answer with inline citations linking back to its sources — so users can verify claims and explore further. Because citations are inline rather than appended as a separate list, individual sentences or passages can be traced back to the exact page Copilot drew them from. It runs on the most recent AI models from OpenAI and pulls from the live web in real time rather than relying only on training data, which is what makes it usable as an everyday research and Q&A tool as well as a writing assistant.
Core features
- Freemium: free baseline experience for everyone, available without a paid subscription
- Microsoft 365 Premium bundles Copilot Pro with Microsoft 365 Family apps for $19.99/month
- Real-time web search via the Bing search service, grounding answers in current information
- Inline citations to sources within generated answers, so claims can be checked
- Powered by the most recent AI models from OpenAI
- EU Data Boundary: EU customer queries stay within the EU; other regions' traffic may be processed in the US, EU, or elsewhere
- Business tier: Microsoft 365 Copilot Business from $18/user/month (paid yearly), for team and organizational use
- Users can opt out of having their conversation activity used to train Microsoft's AI models
Who it's for
Copilot suits everyday users who want a free, ambient AI assistant across Windows, Edge, and Bing without signing up for a separate subscription, as well as Microsoft 365 users who want AI woven directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Because the free experience already includes real-time web search and citations, casual users often never need to upgrade; the paid Microsoft 365 Premium and Copilot Business tiers exist mainly for people and teams who want Copilot embedded across the full Office app suite or need organizational collaboration features.
Data and compliance
For EU customers, Microsoft 365 Copilot is designated an EU Data Boundary service, so EU traffic stays within the EU; customers outside the EU may have their queries processed in the US, EU, or other regions. Users can opt out of having their conversation activity used for AI model training at any time. Beyond these documented controls, organizations with strict compliance requirements should confirm current terms on Microsoft's own privacy and data-residency pages.