I’m genuinely excited about the suite of AI tools Microsoft has been introducing for Microsoft 365, particularly Excel. However, I do wish the naming conventions were sometimes easier to understand. Specifically, it’s quite confusing to follow along with the various products since they are all named “Copilot:”
This post aims to distinguish between Microsoft Copilot and Copilot for Excel in terms of access, pricing, features, and more.
Access
To start, how can you access Microsoft Copilot, including its extension for Excel? Let’s begin with Microsoft Copilot, which is available through a freemium plan.
Copilot (free)
Copilot’s free tier leverages technology similar to ChatGPT to benefit a broad audience. Accessible on various platforms and Microsoft applications, it helps users search the web, create content, generate images, and address complex questions or inquiries.
Copilot Pro
Copilot Pro enhances the features of the free version by offering improved performance and priority access during peak times, along with additional image creator boosts for creating more AI-generated images daily. Unlike the free version, Copilot Pro integrates advanced AI capabilities into Office apps, including Excel. It also unlocks specialized AI features designed to boost productivity in the workplace.
Copilot Pro is priced at $20 per month for individuals and $30 per month for those on a business license. I will focus on the business license for the remaining sections.
Copilot Work vs Copilot Web
We can further divide the paid business version of Copilot into two categories: Work and Web. If you are logged into copilot.microsoft.com while on a paid business account, you will see a toggle tab at the top of your screen that lets you choose the setting you prefer:
Let’s explore when to use which.
Copilot Work
This feature is seamlessly integrated within Microsoft 365 applications, harnessing the power of large language models alongside your content in Microsoft Graph and Microsoft 365 apps. It aids in creating, editing, and enhancing productivity across Microsoft 365 apps. You can access this service in applications like Microsoft 365 Chat, Teams, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Loop, OneNote, and Whiteboard. It’s designed to assist with various tasks such as preparing for meetings, summarizing email threads, drafting documents, and brainstorming strategies.
If you need to summarize texts, prepare for meetings, draft outlines, compose emails, or start presentations while leveraging current business assets like emails or documents, this service will be extremely valuable. However, for most Excel-related tasks, Copilot Work might not be as helpful, at least for now. For instance, if you visit Microsoft’s Copilot Lab, you will notice that while the suggested prompts are quite beneficial for professionals, they are not specifically tailored for Excel:
Copilot Work is designed to leverage and safeguard organizational files and data securely. This means it is safe to use without the risk of confidential data being accessed by the LLM. Additionally, it does not read external data from the web. It is a completely closed system.
Copilot Web
On the other hand, Copilot Web functions very similarly to ChatGPT as a general-purpose generative AI tool. It can interact with the web and summarize external files and sources. This makes it less focused on work-specific documents and data and more of a general-purpose creativity tool. Importantly, your personal data is still protected and will not be shared with the large language model if you are using Copilot here, which is a significant advantage over ChatGPT.
Copilot on the Web may actually prove more beneficial for Excel users than Copilot Work. This program can assist with a variety of tasks, including debugging formulas, generating synthetic data, writing VBA macros, framing problems, defining KPIs, and more.
To recap, Copilot Work is your AI-powered assistant, utilizing data from a range of internal sources for various productivity tasks. In contrast, Copilot Web specializes in data analytics and automation within Excel and potentially other web-based applications. Both are designed to streamline your workflow and enhance your productivity within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Copilot for Excel
Next, let’s delve into the Copilot feature embedded directly within Excel. Specifically designed to optimize your productivity exclusively in Excel, Copilot in Excel is part of the broader Microsoft Copilot system and is oriented towards internal usage. This tool ensures a secure and confidential means to transmit and manage your data.
This tool is ideal for users who frequently work with data but may not possess extensive expertise in Excel. It leverages natural language processing to comprehend and perform complex data manipulation tasks, which typically require a deep understanding of Excel functions. Whether it’s crafting sophisticated pivot tables on-the-fly or generating custom charts and visuals, Copilot in Excel makes these processes intuitive and straightforward.
However, Copilot in Excel does have its limitations. Currently, it is not equipped to automate tasks that involve multiple worksheets. Therefore, if you need assistance with merging data sources or creating a macro that works across several worksheets, for example, you might find this challenging at the moment. For more comprehensive tasks like these, the broader Microsoft Copilot platform would be more suitable.
In summary, use Copilot in Excel for straightforward data formatting or analysis tasks on a single worksheet. Opt for Windows Copilot when you need more comprehensive assistance with tasks that extend beyond a single table, such as debugging VBA macros, or when you require support with the overall design and troubleshooting of a workbook.
Do you have any questions about Windows Copilot or Copilot in Excel? Please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments. You can also check out my LinkedIn Learning course for an overview of Copilot for Excel.
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