Getting the most from your Microsoft investment with Copilot AI

Posted October 23, 2025

Microsoft is rapidly expanded its AI Copilot ecosystem. You’ve probably seen prompts in your Edge browser, Word, Outlook, your Dynamics 365 system, and other Microsoft applications, encouraging you to use Copilot. Maybe you’ve dipped your toe into the Copilot water, or maybe you are wondering, why should I be using this and what’s in it for me?

Joesoftware breaks down what Copilots are, and how they can bring quick wins and efficiency to your operations.

What is a copilot?

Copilot is Microsoft’s brand for its suite of AI-powered productivity tools or assistants across its various products in the Microsoft ecosystem. Copilots can help you with everyday tasks in your Microsoft apps, documents, and conversations.

As an AI-powered digital assistant, Copilot can help with tasks like writing, coding, summarizing, and searching. Copilots can comprehend human language and provide answers or take actions. Just like a copilot on an airplane, it’s a tool that can help you be more productive and efficient. But you are always the pilot in that airplane as you are always in charge.

Copilot is integrated into many Microsoft applications. There is also Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales, Service and Finance.

Why should you use Copilot?

Copilot is all about enhancing your productivity, making better use your time and resources as you work in different Microsoft applications. Copilot can do a deep research dive on a complex topic or find very specific information online; tasks that would be challenging with a standard search inquiry.

With Copilot in Microsoft 365, Copilot responses can be grounded in your own data and information, allowing you to query company specific information in your Excel spreadsheets, Outlook emails, and more.

Just like everything in the AI universe, Copilot is continually evolving in its reach, scope and what it can do. You can stay up to date on the new Copilot features on the Microsoft 365 Copilot blog.

Understanding Copilot licensing: What is included and what is an additional cost

One of the most common questions we encounter is: “Do I need to pay more for Copilot?” The answer depends on which version of Copilot you’re using and what you want it to do. Microsoft offers several Copilot options, and understanding the differences can help you make the right investment decision for your organization.

What you get for free

If you already have a Microsoft 365 business subscription (Business Basic, Standard, Premium, or Enterprise E3/E5), you have access to Copilot Chat at no additional cost. This free version provides:

• AI-powered chat assistance for general questions and content creation
• Web-based information and research capabilities
• Basic task automation
• Enterprise-grade security and data protection

However, there’s a limitation you need to be aware of. The free Copilot Chat cannot automatically access your company’s internal data. It won’t know about your emails, documents, SharePoint files, or Teams conversations unless you manually provide that information. It is like having an AI assistant that can answer general questions and help with writing but doesn’t have access to your organization’s knowledge base.

What you get with a paid subscription

Microsoft 365 Copilot (CAD $40.70 per user, per month) is the premium add-on that unlocks Copilot’s full potential within your organization. This is where the real productivity gains happen because it can:

• Access your company data: Copilot can automatically pull information from your emails, documents, SharePoint, Teams chats, and OneDrive to provide relevant, context-aware assistance.
• Integrate directly into your apps: Use Copilot seamlessly within Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams without switching windows.
• Automate complex tasks: Draft presentations based on existing documents, summarize long email threads, analyze Excel data with natural language commands.

The additional Copilot fee is an add-on to your existing Microsoft 365 license. If you’re currently on Office 365 or need to upgrade your base subscription, your total cost per user could range significantly depending on your license tier.

Which option makes sense for you?

Joesoftware recommends that organizations start with the free Copilot Chat to explore AI capabilities and how your team could be using AI. If you find yourself frequently needing information from your organization’s documents and systems, or spending significant time on tasks like email summarization, data analysis, or document creation, the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription will likely deliver a strong return on investment through time savings and productivity gains.

The key is matching the tool to your actual needs, and it is likely that not every employee requires the premium version of Copilot. Strategically deploying Copilot to knowledge workers and heavy Microsoft 365 users often makes the most financial sense.

The bottom line is that Copilot is an easy way for your organization to embrace AI and make it work for you. If you are curious about how you could put Copilot to work in your Microsoft system, let’s talk.