Lesson 1: What Microsoft 365 Copilot Is

Welcome to the course

This course teaches you how to use Microsoft's AI assistant at work without writing any code. Each level ends with a task you do with Copilot and a way to check your result.

About this course: This is an independent course. Microsoft did not write, sponsor or approve it. We explain features in our own words and send you to Microsoft's pages for the official details.

What Microsoft 365 Copilot is

Here is the short version:

1. What it does: Copilot is an AI assistant built into the Microsoft apps you already use. You ask it in plain language to draft, summarise, analyse or answer a question, and it replies inside your work.
2. How it does it: It uses a large language model (an AI that reads and writes text). Depending on your licence and settings, it can also use the public web and your organisation's content, such as emails, files, meetings and chats. It only uses content that you already have permission to open.

An analogy: Think of a capable new assistant who sits beside you in every app. They work fast, but they can only open the folders you can open, and their work needs checking before it goes out.

Where it appears

You will usually find Copilot in these places:

• Outlook: drafting emails, summarising long threads, adjusting tone
• Teams: meeting recaps, questions during a meeting, chat summaries
• Word: drafting, rewriting and summarising documents
• Excel: formulas, analysis and charts
• PowerPoint: building and editing presentations
• OneNote: drafting plans, ideas and lists
• The Copilot app and Copilot Chat: a standalone chat you can open on the web, on desktop, on mobile and in the Edge browser

Later levels cover each of these. For now, you only need to know where Copilot appears.

A note on names

Microsoft renames Copilot products often. In 2026 the Microsoft 365 Copilot app was renamed Microsoft Copilot, and its main web address is changing to copilot.cloud.microsoft. Microsoft's own overview page is now titled "What is Microsoft Copilot?" This course keeps the name "Microsoft 365 Copilot" for the assistant you use at work. Don't worry if a label on your screen looks a little different.

Why you must check Microsoft's current pages

Copilot changes every month. Features get added, renamed, moved or withdrawn. Two people in the same company can also see different things, because of:

• Licence: some people have the paid Copilot add-on and some do not (Level 2 covers this).
• Admin settings: your IT team can turn features on or off.
• Rollout timing: Microsoft releases features in stages, so your colleague may get one weeks before you do.
• Preview programmes: some features are early previews and not finished products.

Rule for this course: before you depend on a feature, check it on Microsoft's current pages. Treat anything labelled preview as liable to change.

Task 1: Find Copilot in your own setup

Do this now. Spend about 10 minutes on it.

1. Make sure you are signed in with your work account, not a personal Microsoft account. Copilot behaves differently for each.
2. Open Outlook. Look for a Copilot icon or button in the toolbar, in a new email and at the top of an open email thread. Write down what you see.
3. Open Teams. Look for Copilot in the left-hand app bar, in a chat and in a meeting window. Write down what you see.
4. Open a document in Word, then a workbook in Excel and a deck in PowerPoint. Look for a Copilot button on the Home ribbon. Write down what you see.
5. Open the Copilot app or go to copilot.cloud.microsoft in your browser. Write down whether it opens.
6. Make a simple table with the columns: App | Entry point found? (Y/N) | Where on screen | Any label shown.

Check your result:

• You checked all the apps you have.
• Each "Y" says exactly where the entry point is.
• You noted any labels on screen, such as preview, Frontier or Premium.
• For each "N", you noted a possible reason: no licence, not rolled out yet, or turned off by IT. Ask your IT team if you're not sure. Don't guess.

Task 2: Check whether a feature is generally available or in preview

Generally available (GA) means the feature is fully released to customers it applies to. Preview means it is an early version that may change, stay limited to some users or be withdrawn.

Use these Microsoft sources:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes (Microsoft Learn): a dated list of updates. Each date is split by app, such as Word, Excel and Outlook. The page says it lists changes that are generally available.
• Microsoft 365 Roadmap (microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap): each item has a status.
  • In development: still being built and tested.
  • Rolling out: starting to reach customers, but not all of them yet.
  • Launched: fully released, or generally available.
• Frontier programme: Microsoft's early-access programme for preview AI features. If a feature is marked Frontier, it is a preview and not GA.

Do this now:

1. Pick one feature from your Task 1 table, for example "summarise an email thread in Outlook".
2. Search for the feature by name in the release notes. Write down the date it appears and the app heading it is under.
3. Search the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for the same feature. Filter by product (for example, Outlook) and note the status.
4. Look for the words preview or Frontier on the feature's Microsoft page.
5. Write a one-line verdict: "[Feature]: GA / Preview / Rolling out / Unconfirmed, checked [date], source [page]."

Check your result:

• Your verdict names a Microsoft source, not a blog or video.
• It includes the date you checked.
• If the sources disagree or you can't find the feature, you wrote Unconfirmed. Don't guess.

Worked example

Priya works in HR. She can see Copilot in Outlook and Teams, but there is no Copilot button in Word. She records "N, possible licence difference" and asks IT instead of assuming Word has no Copilot. A colleague mentions a new Copilot feature, so Priya looks it up. The roadmap says Rolling out. Her verdict is "Rolling out, not yet GA for everyone, checked today." She doesn't promise it to her manager until it appears for her.

Key takeaways

• Copilot is an AI assistant built into Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus a standalone Copilot app and Copilot Chat.
• It only uses content you already have permission to open.
• What you see depends on your licence, admin settings, rollout timing and preview programmes.
• Microsoft renames Copilot products often. The app is now called Microsoft Copilot, at copilot.cloud.microsoft.
• Check features on Microsoft's current pages: release notes for GA features, roadmap statuses, and Frontier for previews.
• Date your checks, and write Unconfirmed if you can't confirm a feature.
• This course is independent of Microsoft.