Microsoft is expanding its AI integration again, enabling anyone to subscribe to a new service called Copilot Pro, which will be used in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. That means you can do things like generate full slideshows in Powerpoint with just a few words typed into the chatbot.
Having generative AI built right into Office apps was an exciting idea when it was announced last year, but so far, it’s only available for enterprise accounts as part of Copilot in Microsoft 365. Now, that option is available for all Microsoft 365 and Office customers, but it won’t be free.
Following the pricing scheme of ChatGPT Plus, Copilot Pro will cost you $20 per month. The subscription fee will also grant you priority access and customization via Copilot GPT Builder. Copilot Pro for Microsoft apps works on Windows PCs, Macs, and iPads, with iPhone and Android support coming next month.
Subscribers will enjoy faster results and will have a choice of AI models, including OpenAI’s powerful GPT-4 Turbo. Copilot GPT Builder lets you create Copilot GPTs that deliver results optimized for particular topics, such as fitness, cooking, and travel. It sounds quite similar to OpenAI’s GPT Editor for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers.
With Copilot Pro, the AI can assist you with the email, document, or spreadsheet you have open by creating summaries, writing responses, and analyzing data. Removing the extra steps of copying and pasting text between apps and an AI should be a big time-saver and could increase your usage.
Copilot Pro also includes enhanced AI image creation based on Dall-E 3, with up to 100 boosts for quicker creation, more detailed images, and an option for landscape format.
Copilot is still free to use on Windows and includes the core protections and values of Microsoft’s AI. Copilot’s built-in web grounding helps ensure responses are relevant and useful, while commercial data protection prevents the use of your data for training and doesn’t save prompts.
Microsoft Copilot is the new name for the generative text chatbot originally called Bing Chat, while Bing Image Creator is now called Microsoft Designer. Copilot support will continue to grow and Microsoft is even adding a custom Copilot key to Windows keyboards.
If you want the extra speed, ease of use, and flexibility of Copilot Pro, and the $20 per month fee doesn’t sound too expensive, you can subscribe at Microsoft’s online store.
