Install and account requirements
Microsoft Copilot is an AI chat app for Windows, with versions also available for macOS Sonoma 14 or later, the web, iOS, and Android. Its small online installer downloads the current app, after which you sign in with a personal Microsoft account or a work or school account. An internet connection is required because prompts are processed in Microsoft’s cloud.
The app is freeware for personal use with a Microsoft account, subject to usage limits. Microsoft 365 is optional: a subscription can raise limits or provide additional features, depending on the plan. Feature availability can also vary by country, account, and licence, and an organisation’s administrator may disable some capabilities.
After setup, the Windows app provides an assistant in its own window, where Chat can answer questions, summarise files, and draft text using the web and your content; the Microsoft Copilot experience also supports voice conversations and assistance with what is on your screen or camera.
Using Copilot after setup
Chat is the core place to ask questions, request summaries, or work on a draft. Copilot can use web information and, depending on the account, relevant personal or organisational content. With a personal account, it can work with your own content and the web. With a work or school account, Work IQ can draw on files, email, and Teams meetings that you are already permitted to access.
For writing and creative work, Copilot includes Notebooks and Pages, along with image creation. Its Create capability can generate images, posters, infographics, and videos. Voice and vision provide ways to interact conversationally and ask for help with screen or camera content, rather than relying only on typed prompts.
Users can switch between leading OpenAI and Anthropic models. For longer workflows, Cowork plans and completes multi-step tasks while the user retains control, where the feature is available on an eligible plan. Work accounts also include Code for coding tasks. Researcher and Analyst provide further capabilities on Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro, with larger limits than the free personal account.
How accounts and plans affect features
A personal Microsoft account gives access to free chat, web answers, voice, and image creation, all with usage limits. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 per month and adds higher usage for chat, image creation, and visual assistance, as well as Copilot in the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook desktop apps. Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro add Cowork, Researcher, and Analyst with larger limits.
Work and school accounts are suited to tasks that involve organisational information, because Work IQ can use accessible files, email, and meetings. Access remains governed by the permissions on the account, and administrators can control feature availability. The app does not provide local or offline AI: it requires sign-in and sends prompts for cloud processing.
Practical fit
Copilot is useful when a Windows user wants one signed-in app for question answering, drafting, summaries, and creative tasks, especially when Microsoft 365 apps or permitted work content are part of the workflow. The free account supports basic use without a Microsoft 365 subscription, while paid plans change usage limits and unlock additional capabilities rather than being required to install the app.
