Microsoft's Office Apps Now Have Free Copilot Chat Features (theverge.com) 26
Microsoft is adding the free Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and agents to Office apps for all Microsoft 365 business users today. From a report: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote are all being updated with a Copilot Chat sidebar that will help draft documents, analyze spreadsheets, and more without needing an additional Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
"Copilot Chat is secure AI chat grounded in the web -- and now, it's available in the Microsoft 365 apps," explains Seth Patton, general Manager of Microsoft 365 Copilot product marketing. "It's content aware, meaning it quickly understands what you're working on, tailoring answers to the file you have open. And it's included at no additional cost for Microsoft 365 users."
While this free version of Copilot will rewrite documents, provide summaries, and help create slides in PowerPoint, the $30 per month, per user Microsoft 365 Copilot license will still have the best integration in Office apps. The Microsoft 365 Copilot license is also not limited to a single document, and can reason over entire work data.
"Copilot Chat is secure AI chat grounded in the web -- and now, it's available in the Microsoft 365 apps," explains Seth Patton, general Manager of Microsoft 365 Copilot product marketing. "It's content aware, meaning it quickly understands what you're working on, tailoring answers to the file you have open. And it's included at no additional cost for Microsoft 365 users."
While this free version of Copilot will rewrite documents, provide summaries, and help create slides in PowerPoint, the $30 per month, per user Microsoft 365 Copilot license will still have the best integration in Office apps. The Microsoft 365 Copilot license is also not limited to a single document, and can reason over entire work data.
Of course it's free! (Score:5, Insightful)
The data you provide will provide, will help us with corporate espionage.
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No thanks (Score:5, Interesting)
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No. They tried that for OEM-licensed Windows on new computers where the purchasers wanted to run other operating systems. Didn't work then either.
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Still formally a thing in countries where OS reimbursement is mandated by law or courts, at least France. At random, the Windows reimbursement procedure for Acer: https://www.acer.com/fr-fr/sup... [acer.com] For You get 13 to 69 € for Windows Home, 13 to 108 € for Windows 11 Pro, but you pay the shipping of the computer both ways, so likely not interesting financially. It's more a statement like people requesting their Apostasy certificate out of the Catholic Church.
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Do you offer refunds on products I don't want or need ?
Indeed. Since we've added this feature for free your check for $0 should be sent to you shortly.
Re:No thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
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If you didn't want it or need it, why did you buy it in the first place?
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The context of this is Microsoft changing software the person has already bought. It was something wanted and needed in its original form, it's not wanted in its modified form.
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Nobody's forcing you to update or to use the AI features. You can still install Office 2003 if that's the version you want.
"now have free copilot"? (Score:5, Insightful)
For some time, Microsoft has been shoving copilot into pretty much *all* of their apps, and then updating them in an attempt to force / beg people to make use of it.
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And it diverts attention from Microsofts real threat! Recall!
In order for Recall to work. Microsoft copies everything on your computer for their own internal use. Suggesting it is for the customers benefit.
Is the Office Assistant... (Score:2)
Is the Office Assistant like disco making a come back as Clippy II? Emphasis upon #2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
JoshK.
Features... (Score:2)
...that no one wants.
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...that no one wants.
It is the Microsoft Way!®
Good for the annoying stuff (Score:2)
All that busywork your boss makes you do...is a perfect job for AI. Or summarizing that agonizingly long email thread that somebody forwards to you and asks, "What do you think about this?" Or taking that text you wrote and making it more formal.
Personally, I find AI to be useful for taking some of the dumbest work tasks and making them go away.
Free because... (Score:2)
They couldn't get enough people to pay the monthly fee.
This is them trying to get people hooked, and then later they'll bring back the fees. It's called a loss leader.
"Free" (Score:2)
Did you mean to write "free"? I'm pretty sure it's included in the cost, rather than free in any meaningful sense. Perhaps you meant to write "Unwanted", or "forced"?
Anti-competitive (Score:2)
They basically walked away unharmed when they shoved Teams down everybody's throat. It was ruled anti-competitive, but they received no penalty because they promised to "restore fair competition".
Now they are going to do the same with their spicy auto-complete.
How much to remove it? (Score:2)
My current device hierarchy, ordered by how much I would like to use it to work on a task:
My (former) work linux laptop (I bought it, data scrubbed) (Debian)
My (former) work linux desktop (same as above) (fedora, although I'd like something in the Debian tree)
My Windows VM on my linux desktop
My current gaming laptop (windows, not federated in any way)
My current gaming desktop (same as above)
My rooted android tabled
My unrooted android tablet
My no cost to me, modern with all the features I want Windows lapto
That's unfortunate (Score:2)
We've had copilot in office for sbout five weeks. The only thing we now trust it for is to create small sample tables for examples.
No one is pleasd with copilot and we think it's an annoying waste of UI real estate.
We're awaiting IT re-installing without copilot.