Microsoft Copilot AI: Features, Pricing & How It Works in Outlook, Word & Excel

Have​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ you at some point come across Microsoft Copilot if you use Microsoft 365 applications like Outlook, Word, or Excel daily? But – what is it really, and what benefits can it bring to the way you work day by day? For accounting professionals, bookkeepers, and small business owners, Sagenext core community efficiency is everything. This article explains the truth behind the Microsoft Copilot AI hype, its genuine applications and costs, and also the limitations that you should be aware of before going deep into it.

What​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ is Microsoft Copilot and How Does It Work?

Think of Microsoft 365 Copilot as a genius assistant that’s built right into the Microsoft 365 apps suite the very same ones you know and use ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌daily.

It’s not like a regular AI chatbot, which can only answer based on the provided prompt. Copilot is context-aware because it gets to know what is inside your documents, emails, and even your data. It is powered by an intelligence layer named Work IQ, which has deep integration with your work data, emails, files, meetings, and chats to understand your role, style, and organizational ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌context.

The greatest thing is that it is so well integrated. You don’t need to grab info here and there and then paste it there. You can ask Copilot to do a task for you right in the same application, and that makes the whole process very natural.

Key Uses & “Tips and Tricks” for Core Applications

Check out the ways and means in which Copilot can multiply your efficiency in the applications you use the most.

In Outlook: Master Your Inbox

• Summarize Long Threads: see an instant comeback summary of an extended email string and get the gist of it in the blink of an eye.
• Draft Professional Replies: It can help you address the recipient in a clear, appropriate, and polite way. Instruction: hint the AI something like “polite reply asking for the audit documents for the next week extension” to get a better outcome.
• Manage Your Calendar: By simply chatting with the assistant, asking it to find available hours for meetings, or summarizing the day’s agenda becomes an easy task.

In Word: From Blank Page to First Draft

• Get Over Writer’s Block:
• Create​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ drafts of case studies, business plans, or customer correspondences based on a prompt or a rough outline.
• Rewrite and Refine: Employ this tool to adjust a paragraph to a more compact, formal, or convincing style. 

Pro tip: Keep your files on OneDrive: ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍ That will make Copilot capable of accessing all the necessary data regarding your file to assist you.

In Excel: Unlock Data Insights

• You don’t need to come up with complex formulas to ask questions. Just speak normally, e.g., “What were the top five expenses last quarter?” or “Give me the monthly revenue trend.”
• Generate Charts and PivotTables: tell it to “make a pie chart of expenses by category” based on the selected data.
• Pro tip: specify your request. The more detailed your prompt, the closer to the truth will be the result of Copilot’s analysis.

In PowerPoint & Teams

• Make Presentations Out of Documents: give a Word document or an outline to Copilot, and it will produce a beautiful, well-structured presentation.
• Make Meetings Better: the assistant in Teams can provide you with real-time meeting summaries, list agreed actions, and answer questions related to the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌discussions.

Subscriptions, Pricing, and Understanding “AI Credits”

Access to Copilot’s advanced features requires a paid Microsoft 365 subscription. It’s crucial to understand the tiers and their limits to choose the right plan for your needs.

What​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ are AI Credits and Limits?

• AI Credits: A monthly quota of premium usage actions, like creating AI-generated images in Designer or making content with Paint. Usually, one action requires one credit.
• Feature Limits: Restrictions on how frequently you can use certain features per day or month, for example, Voice mode (30-60 mins/day) or the “Researcher” agent (15 tasks/month on Premium).
• Check Your Usage: You can see how many credits and limits you have left under “Services & subscriptions” in your Microsoft account.

Essential Inevitabilities That You Should Have on Your Radar

Despite all its functionalities, Copilot has limits. So, knowing them will save you from getting shocked and will boost the efficient use of this tool.

• It’s a Co-pilot, Not an Autopilot: Copilot was invented to be a helper, not to come up with ideas or to be your moral compass. You have to be the one who confirms, double-checks, and gives the final green light to everything it produces, particularly when it comes to the use of sensitive business data, financial calculations, or client communications.
• Governance Over Guesswork: Copilot is an enterprise-grade solution with strong security measures. It may refuse to respond if there is no context or if the request is one that would require assumptions, etc., unlike ChatGPT, which can “guess.” It, therefore, may appear less powerful, but this is a deliberate safety measure.
• Accuracy Variances: Users report inconsistencies, such as occasional errors in math in Excel or transcription inaccuracies in Teams. Using​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ built-in formulas in Excel, double-check your calculations for exact accuracy, and limit Copilot’s use to explorative work, generating first drafts, and coming up with ideas, which can have a few minor errors.
• Basically, Copilot’s Only Data Access is Limited to Your M365 Environment: Copilot can only read and utilize those documents and data that are already accessible to you via your Microsoft 365 environment. Only if specifically commanded will Copilot be able to fetch data from other systems, websites, or apps besides the Microsoft Graph.
• Adoption Still Requires Work: The first step is getting a license, but that alone doesn’t bring about increased productivity automatically. Training users, having clear internal policies, and organizing your data properly are the main factors that can help you succeed with Copilot.

Conclusion: A strong tool within a secure ecosystem

Microsoft Copilot might be the most significant productivity enhancer for the Microsoft 365 suite in recent years. The professionals whose main tools are Outlook, Excel, and Word will be suddenly capable of producing drafts, performing analyses, and communicating more in less ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌time.

The real magic happens when you use it as a governed, secure assistant to build on your skills in a trusted environment that Microsoft provides, and you are already familiar with. By becoming familiar with its capabilities, subscription types, and very real limitations, you can add it to your workflow to get more work done with less ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌stress.

Want​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ to optimize your entire digital workspace? We at Sagenext are the right people to help you if you want to host your critical accounting applications, such as Sage, QuickBooks, and Drake Tax in secure, high-performance cloud environments. Combine the power of AI-assisted Microsoft 365 with the smoothly hosted accounting software of your choice for a very contemporary ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌practice  Explore our hosting solutions to see how we can help.