Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant, designed to enhance productivity and streamline tasks. Microsoft has been integrating Copilot into all their apps, making it a prominent tool for users.
There are two versions of Copilot:
- A free, mostly web-based version available to everyone on campus
- A paid version, Copilot Pro, which tightly integrates with Microsoft 365 applications and services
Follow the instructions below to try the free version of Copilot in the web.
Most AI services will incorporate any data provided to them into their Large Language Models (LLMs), which can result in that data being “owned” by the AI service provider and that data being presented as results to other users of the service.
Copilot is different.
Use of Copilot is covered by the university’s enterprise agreement with Microsoft. Data provided to Copilot is not used to train Microsoft’s LLM. This ensures that our data remains secure and private, making Copilot a safer choice compared to other AI tools for people interest in experimenting with AI and for folks who don’t need AI integrated with Office 365 applications.
Evaluating Copilot
The University of Vermont is currently assessing the benefits of Copilot Pro. Although the enhanced features and improved performance have the potential to significantly boost productivity and efficiency across various departments, these licenses come with a considerable cost. UVM is actively exploring the risks and appropriate use cases for Copilot and other AI tools.
We are also evaluating the differences between the free and paid versions of Copilot. While the free version offers substantial functionality, the paid version provides enhanced features and performance.
- Free Version Capabilities:
- Web and Mobile Access: Available on Windows, macOS, iPadOS, Android, and iOS.
- Conversational Search: Utilize text, voice, and images to perform searches.
- Content Creation: Generate text and images using AI, with up to 15 image boosts per day.
- Basic AI Assistance: Access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo during non-peak times.
- Pro Version Enhancements:
- Priority Access: Faster performance and priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, even during peak times.
- Microsoft 365 Integration: Advanced AI features within Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook.
- Increased Image Generation: Up to 100 image boosts per day with DALL-E 3, including landscape format options.
- Enhanced Productivity Tools: Additional tools for drafting documents, summarizing emails, creating presentations, and more.
Trying Copilot in the Web
For our privacy and data protections to be in effect, you must sign in with your UVM account. Personal versions of Copilot aren’t covered under our Microsoft enterprise agreement.
- Visit https://copilot.cloud.microsoft and sign in with your UVM account.
- Select the Work experience.
- Look for the Enterprise Data Protection shield to confirm that you are connected to Copilot with your UVM work/school account.
Contact Us about Copilot
We are still in the process of evaluating Copilot Pro and currently have a limited number of licenses available. However, we are very interested in hearing from individuals who would like to use Copilot Pro. If you are interested, please share the specific cases where you would like to test or apply Copilot. This will help us understand the potential use cases and allocate licenses effectively.
If you have any questions or would like to express your interest in Copilot Pro, please contact the UVM Tech Team.