Microsoft Relaunches Copilot for Business

Microsoft Relaunches Free Copilot for Businesses as Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

What’s New?

Microsoft is relaunching its free Copilot for businesses as Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, complete with the ability to use AI agents. Copilot Chat is Microsoft’s latest attempt to get people used to using AI at work and relying on it enough to tempt them into paying $30 per month to get the full Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Features and Capabilities

Copilot Chat is essentially a rebranding of what was once Bing Chat Enterprise before Microsoft rebranded it to just Copilot. It crucially now includes access to Copilot AI agents right within the chat interface — which was previously only available in the full Microsoft 365 Copilot experience — requiring a $30 per user per month subscription. These agents are designed to work like virtual colleagues and can do things like monitor email inboxes or automate a series of tasks.

Agent Usage and Pricing

The usage of agents with Copilot Chat will be priced through the Copilot Studio meter in Azure or through a pay-as-you-go option. Microsoft measures agent usage in messages, so classic answers that don’t hit large language models are priced as one message, whereas generative answers cost two messages and anything accessing the Microsoft Graph (including files stored in SharePoint) will cost 30 messages.

Example Cost Calculations

Microsoft provides some example cost calculations for businesses that might be tempted to use AI agents through Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat:

• A hypothetical agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat uses data stored in Microsoft Graph to answer employee questions about HR policies. Yesterday, the agent consumed 200 generative answers and 200 tenant Graph grounding for messages. Therefore, it would cost 6,400 messages or $64 for that day.

Chat Experience and File Upload

The actual chat experience in Copilot Chat is largely unchanged, and it uses GPT-4o for queries. You can also upload files to Copilot Chat and have it summarize Word documents or even analyze data in Excel spreadsheets. You can do the same thing directly within Word or Excel if you pay for the full Microsoft 365 Copilot, instead of having to upload files manually.

Popularity and Future Plans

Copilot Chat is already popular among businesses that rely on Microsoft software and services. "We had Bing Chat Enterprise that we renamed, and despite the fact that the naming journey has been hard to track and it’s hard to find the product, we have a remarkable number of users on it," says Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer of AI at work. "What we find is that when you start to use it, you become accustomed to and appreciative of the value that it can provide at work."

Conclusion

Microsoft will be hoping that Copilot Chat can help convert a lot more businesses over to its AI way of thinking. With an ongoing debate over the value of a $30 per user per month subscription to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat is designed to tempt businesses into paying to get Copilot inside Office apps.

FAQs

Q: What is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?
A: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is a rebranded version of Bing Chat Enterprise, which allows businesses to use AI agents to automate tasks and answer questions.

Q: What are Copilot AI agents?
A: Copilot AI agents are designed to work like virtual colleagues and can do things like monitor email inboxes or automate a series of tasks.

Q: How do I use Copilot AI agents?
A: You can create and use agents using Copilot Studio, use agents that rely on web data, and even use agents grounded on work data through the Microsoft graph.

Q: How do I pay for Copilot AI agents?
A: You can pay for Copilot AI agents through the Copilot Studio meter in Azure or through a pay-as-you-go option.

Q: Is there a trial mode for Microsoft 365 Copilot?
A: No, there is no trial mode for Microsoft 365 Copilot.