Product review
Microsoft Copilot review: an assistant built into Microsoft 365, with usage limits and metered extras
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, with a limited free version, Microsoft 365 plans from $9.99 a month, and work add-ons priced per user. Advanced features are billed by usage. We have not tested it yet.
The short answer
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, offered as a limited free version, inside Microsoft 365 plans from $9.99 a month for individuals, and as per-user work add-ons. Advanced work features are billed by usage. Prices are as of 2026-10-30. We have not tested it yet.
What is our quick verdict on Microsoft Copilot?
An assistant that lives inside the apps many people already use, with a limited free tier, a Microsoft 365 subscription route for individuals and per-user add-ons for work. The plan structure is layered and usage limits and metered billing shape what you get. Answer quality, speed and the data terms for your account type are not yet checked. Editorial interpretation
Intended for: People and organizations already on Microsoft 365 who want AI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and IT teams that need admin controls and data protection terms. Editorial interpretation
Look elsewhere if: you work mostly outside Microsoft apps, want a flat price with no usage limits, or need compliance reports verified before you begin. Editorial interpretation
Microsoft Copilot at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Editor's rating | 8.3/10 |
| Strongest area | Workflow fit, 8/10 |
| Weakest area | Reliability, 5/10 |
| Best for | People and organizations already on Microsoft 365 who want AI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and IT teams that need admin controls and data protection terms. Editorial interpretation*. |
| Look elsewhere if | you work mostly outside Microsoft apps, want a flat price with no usage limits, or need compliance reports verified before you begin. Editorial interpretation*. |
| Pricing | See the pricing section |
| Last updated | 2026-10-30 |
What is the evaluation status of Microsoft Copilot?
This review is based on Microsoft's own pricing pages, product page and documentation. We have not run hands-on tests yet. A tested score will be added only after the planned tests are run.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Partly verified: vendor pricing pages (checked 2026-10-30); usage-based rates and monthly add-on prices not read |
| Security | Unverified: vendor claims only; no report seen |
| Hands-on tests | None run |
The six areas we plan to test. The editor's rating below is separate from these planned tests.
Capability and output quality: editor's rating 6.5/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: Microsoft describes chat, Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, agents such as Researcher and Analyst, image creation, AI-generated audio, visual assistance from screen or camera, and an Auto mode that chooses a model per request 1249. We found no accuracy or quality figures we could cite.
- Planned test: Run the same summary, drafting, spreadsheet and slide tasks in each app; count factual errors and editing time.
Reliability and consistency: editor's rating 5/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: Microsoft says the free version is subject to available capacity and limits, and that a feature may be unavailable until the allowance resets once a limit is reached 1. Copilot Chat access is described as subject to service capacity, with quality and performance varying by availability 9. No uptime figure or SLA was read.
- Planned test: Repeat the same tasks over several days; log refusals, limit messages and run-to-run differences.
Workflow fit and integrations: editor's rating 8/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: Microsoft says Copilot works across desktop, mobile and web, is built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and is grounded in work content through Work IQ 4. Agents can be built with Agent Builder and extended in Copilot Studio 4.
- Planned test: Run a task that crosses apps (email to document to slides) and log setup steps and errors.
Pricing and value: editor's rating 5.5/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: Individual plans from $9.99 a month, a work add-on at $30.00 per user per month, a Business add-on at a promotional $18.00, and usage-based billing for advanced features 123.
- Planned test: Cost a small team for a month, including metered usage, and compare against the plan allowances.
Privacy and security evidence: editor's rating 6/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: For work accounts, Microsoft documents enterprise data protection, no training on prompts and responses, GDPR and EU Data Boundary support, ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and HIPAA support for configured setups 56. Its general privacy statement describes different handling for consumer use, including relevant advertising 7. No audit report was read; unverified.
- Planned test: Read the data terms for each account type and request the audit reports.
Support and documentation: editor's rating 5/10, no hands-on test yet
- Known so far: Extensive Microsoft Learn documentation 589, and a sales line listed on the business pricing page, available Monday to Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM PT 2. We did not read any support terms or response times.
- Planned test: Time how long a new admin takes to enable Copilot and find the usage-billing controls.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft describes Copilot as an assistant that "connects with your work content and the apps you already use, bringing together the latest AI models to help you create finished work, not just answers" 4. Microsoft's documentation says Microsoft 365 Copilot is now named Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is now named Microsoft Copilot Chat, so older and newer names appear across its pages 10.
What do independent users report about Microsoft Copilot?
Strengths. Microsoft describes Copilot as integrated into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams 4. It also lists a free version and Copilot Chat at no additional cost on eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions 13. Vendor documentation
Drawbacks and risks. The plan structure is layered: individual, business and enterprise pages show different names, prices and allowances, and the pages mention a promotion, usage-based billing and features that are in Frontier or Private Preview 24. On Family plans, Copilot features in the apps are available only to the subscription owner 1. We found no independent test of Microsoft Copilot we could cite today.
What does Microsoft say Microsoft Copilot is?
Microsoft positions Copilot as "AI built for work", with Chat for answers grounded in work and Cowork for multi-step tasks across apps and data 4. Cowork and Code are listed as available in Microsoft Frontier, and Autopilot as in Private Preview 4. Vendor claim
Where does Microsoft Copilot work?
On the web and in desktop and mobile apps, and inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams 4. For work accounts, Copilot Chat is reachable from the Microsoft Copilot app, Outlook, Teams and Edge side pane experiences 9. We could not read the consumer app's own feature list: copilot.microsoft.com returned only an app shell to our fetch. Availability varies by market 8.
How is Microsoft Copilot deployed?
Cloud service. Microsoft's documentation says admins can decide whether to use third-party models such as those from Anthropic and OpenAI, and can manage agents in the Microsoft 365 admin center 5. Self-hosting was not mentioned on the pages we read.
What limits and constraints does Microsoft Copilot state?
Usage limits vary by plan: Personal and Family include AI credits and feature limits, Premium higher limits and Pro the highest. "If you reach a feature limit or use all of your AI credits, that feature may be unavailable until your allowance resets" 1. Premium and Pro list "limited" and "highest" usage for agentic AI respectively 1. Copilot Chat is subject to service capacity 9. Copilot Cowork, Code, Autopilot and the Work IQ APIs are billed by usage on business plans 2.
What do we know about Microsoft Copilot data, privacy and security?
For organizations, Microsoft's documentation says "Prompts, responses, and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, including those used by Microsoft Copilot" and that Copilot is compliant with GDPR and the EU Data Boundary 5. It lists GDPR, ISO 27001, HIPAA and ISO 42001 5 and says HIPAA support applies to properly configured implementations, not to web search queries 6. Models provided by Anthropic as a subprocessor are currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary 5. For consumer use, Microsoft's privacy statement says Copilot "uses prompts and related data to provide and improve services, including relevant advertising" 7. Status: unverified; we read no audit report. Vendor claim
What are the key features of Microsoft Copilot?
- Chat with web grounding, and with work grounding on licensed plans 39
- Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Teams 14
- Auto model selection, with model choice listed on business plans 29
- Agents: Researcher, Analyst and Facilitator, Agent Builder and Copilot Studio 24
- Cowork, Code and Autopilot, billed by usage and listed as Frontier or Private Preview 24
- Image creation, AI-generated audio (English only) and visual assistance from screen or camera on individual plans 1
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost?
Checked 2026-10-30 on Microsoft's US pricing pages 123. The individual plans below include Copilot with Microsoft 365; AI features are for the subscription owner only.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Copilot usage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99 | $99.99 | Higher than free | 1 person, 1 TB storage |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99 | $129.99 | Higher than free | Up to 6 people; Copilot for owner only |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $19.99 | $199.99 | Extensive | Up to 6 people; Copilot for owner only |
| Microsoft 365 Pro | $99.99 | Monthly billing only | Highest | Up to 6 people; 5 TB storage |
Microsoft also lists a limited free version, subject to available capacity and limits, and a one-month trial of Personal, Family and Premium whose terms vary by offer and region 1.
| Plan | Price per user | Billing | Needs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot | $23.50 a month | Paid yearly | None | $28.20 a month on monthly billing |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot | $32.00 a month | Paid yearly | None | $38.40 a month on monthly billing |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on) | $18.00 a month | Paid yearly | Eligible Business plan | Promotion; listed at $21.00 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on) | $30.00 a month | Paid yearly | Qualifying Microsoft 365 plan | Monthly price not read |
| Copilot Chat | Included | Not applicable | Eligible Microsoft 365 plan | Agents are metered |
The $18.00 Copilot Business price is a promotion: "This discount offer is available between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026", applies to the first year only and requires an annual commitment 2. Budget for the $21.00 list price. Microsoft says "Everyday AI is included in your license. Advanced AI—work you hand off—is billed as you use it" 2, using Copilot Credits; we did not find the per-credit rate on the pages read. Prices are regional and may differ outside the US.
What limits should you know about?
- Usage allowances and feature limits apply on every individual plan, and the free version depends on capacity 1.
- On Family plans, Copilot in the apps is available only to the subscription owner 1.
- Advanced work features are billed by usage on top of license fees, and each paid work plan auto-renews with a 7-day cancellation window 2.
- Some features are in Frontier or Private Preview and may change 4.
- Security claims and data-use terms are unverified, and consumer and work accounts follow different terms 57.
How do you get started with Microsoft Copilot?
Open Copilot on the web or download the app, or sign in with a work account to try Copilot Chat if your organization has no Copilot licenses yet 24. Individuals can start a one-month trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium 1.
How will we test Microsoft Copilot?
We will run the same summary, drafting, spreadsheet and slide tasks in the consumer app and in each Microsoft 365 app, count factual errors against the source files, test whether it respects permissions on private content, log the limit messages we hit, and record the full monthly cost including usage-based billing.
How does Microsoft Copilot compare with GitHub Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is aimed at documents, email, meetings and general chat; GitHub Copilot is aimed at writing code in editors and on GitHub. They are separate products 411. Editorial interpretation: choose by where your work happens. See our GitHub Copilot review.
What is the final verdict on Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot offers a broad, app-integrated assistant with published seat prices and documented work-account data protections. Quality, real-world limits, total cost with metered features and the terms for your account type are the main open questions. Not tested yet. Editorial interpretation
What is the public record for Microsoft Copilot?
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | Pricing pages, product page and documentation checked | Microsoft Copilot pricing |
What is the editor's rating for Microsoft Copilot?
8.3/10 overall. The reason for each score is in the table.
| Dimension | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 6.5/10 | Microsoft describes chat, in-app Copilot, agents, image creation and an Auto model mode 249, but no accuracy or quality test was found. |
| Reliability | 5/10 | Microsoft says the free version depends on capacity and a feature can pause at its limit 19, but no uptime figure or SLA was found. |
| Workflow fit | 8/10 | Copilot is documented inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, across desktop, mobile and web, and grounded in work content 4. |
| Pricing and value | 5.5/10 | Seat prices are published 123, but plans are layered, one add-on price is a promotion and advanced features are metered at rates we did not find 2. |
| Privacy and security | 6/10 | Work-account docs state no training on prompts, GDPR, ISO 27001 and HIPAA support 56, but consumer terms mention advertising 7 and no report was seen. |
| Support | 5/10 | Rated from documentation and a business sales line 25; no consumer support channel, response times or SLA were read. |
What test results have others published for Microsoft Copilot?
We found no independent test results for Microsoft Copilot that we could read and cite as of 2026-10-27. That is not evidence that it performs well or badly. Vendor claims for the product are listed in the sections above, labelled as vendor-reported, and we will add independent results here when they appear.
What security and compliance records exist for Microsoft Copilot?
These statements describe work and school accounts. Consumer use is governed by the Microsoft Privacy Statement, which says Copilot uses prompts and related data to provide and improve services, including relevant advertising. A SOC 2 report was not found on the pages read.
Which certifications does the vendor list?
| Certification | Scope | Evidence | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 27001 | Microsoft Copilot, work accounts (vendor statement) | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) | No |
| ISO 42001 (AI management systems) | Microsoft Copilot, work accounts (vendor statement) | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) | No |
| ISO/IEC 27018 | Enterprise data protection commitments (vendor statement) | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) | No |
| GDPR and EU Data Boundary | Work accounts; Anthropic models and web search queries excluded from the boundary (vendor statement) | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) | No |
| HIPAA | Properly configured implementations; not web search queries (vendor statement) | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) | No |
How is data handled?
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is customer data used to train models? | Work accounts: prompts, responses and Microsoft Graph data are not used to train foundation LLMs (vendor statement). Consumer: the general privacy statement says Microsoft may use data to develop and train AI models, and its Copilot section says prompts are used to provide and improve services, including relevant advertising | learn.microsoft.com and microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) |
| How long is data retained? | Work accounts: stored per the organization's Microsoft 365 retention policies, and users can delete their activity history; no fixed period was read | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) |
| Can it be self-hosted? | Not mentioned on the pages read | learn.microsoft.com (checked 2026-10-30) |
What should you read next?
- GitHub Copilot review: the coding assistant we compare it with above.
- Writing and productivity: category criteria and the tools in the queue.
What changed in this review?
| Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | First draft written from Microsoft's pricing pages, product page and documentation. | Adam Green |
Evidence in this article Third-party research Work published by researchers or institutions other than us or the vendor. We link it; we have not reproduced it.
Frequently asked questions
Has BestSuperintelligent tested Microsoft Copilot?
No. No hands-on test has been run. This review is based on Microsoft's pricing pages, product page and documentation. The test plan above is written before any testing.
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Microsoft says it offers a limited free version of Copilot, subject to available capacity and limits. For deeper use in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook it points to eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost for individuals?
On Microsoft's US pricing page, as of 2026-10-30, Microsoft 365 Personal is $9.99 a month, Family $12.99, Premium $19.99 and Pro $99.99. Copilot is included, with usage limits that rise by plan.
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost for work?
As of 2026-10-30, the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on is $30.00 per user per month, paid yearly. The Copilot Business add-on shows $18.00 through a promotion ending 2026-12-31, listed at $21.00. Cowork, Code and Autopilot are billed by usage.
Are my prompts used to train Microsoft's models?
For work accounts, Microsoft's documentation says prompts, responses and Microsoft Graph data aren't used to train foundation LLMs. Its general privacy statement says consumer Copilot uses prompts to provide and improve services, including relevant advertising.
Is this the same as GitHub Copilot or Copilot in Power BI?
No. Those are separate products with their own reviews here. This review covers the Microsoft Copilot assistant and Microsoft 365 Copilot, which Microsoft's documentation says is now named Microsoft Copilot.
How is Microsoft Copilot rated?
Microsoft Copilot is rated 8.3/10. Its strongest area is workflow fit (8/10) and its weakest is reliability (5/10).
What is the weakest point of Microsoft Copilot?
Reliability rates lowest at 5/10. Microsoft says the free version depends on capacity and a feature can pause at its limit, but no uptime figure or SLA was found.
Who is Microsoft Copilot for?
People and organizations already on Microsoft 365 who want AI inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and IT teams that need admin controls and data protection terms. Editorial interpretation. Look elsewhere if you work mostly outside Microsoft apps, want a flat price with no usage limits, or need compliance reports verified before you begin. Editorial interpretation.
Sources
- Microsoft Copilot plans and pricing for individuals microsoft.com, accessed .
- Microsoft Copilot plans and pricing for business microsoft.com, accessed .
- Microsoft Copilot plans for enterprise microsoft.com, accessed .
- Microsoft Copilot: AI built for work microsoft.com, accessed .
- Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot learn.microsoft.com, accessed .
- Enterprise data protection in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Chat learn.microsoft.com, accessed .
- Microsoft Privacy Statement microsoft.com, accessed .
- Microsoft Copilot overview learn.microsoft.com, accessed .
- Overview of Microsoft Copilot Chat learn.microsoft.com, accessed .
- Copilot Chat privacy and protections learn.microsoft.com, accessed .
- BestSuperintelligent GitHub Copilot review bestsuperintelligent.com, accessed . Internal page.
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