Microsoft Copilot - Features of the Free and Licensed Version

Whether you are curious about Copilot’s free web chat or weighing up whether a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is worth the investment, this post unpacks the key differences – with a clear-eyed look at what each version does, and where the real value lies for your business.

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The free Copilot experience: impressive but limited.

Let us start with what is already available to anyone. Microsoft offers a free Copilot Chat experience, accessible via the web, mobile apps, and the Edge browser. This is powered by OpenAI’s model (o1), and includes some impressive capabilities:

• AI-powered chat that can draft content, answer questions, summarise text or documents, and respond to images.

• Voice input plus reasoning tools like “Think Deeper,” available to all users at no cost.

• Access across Edge, mobile and at copilot.microsoft.com — no separate subscription required.

However, the free version cannot access your organisation’s own data.

What a Microsoft 365 Copilot License Gives You

Once you license Copilot (as an add-on to Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, or Premium), it steps up in a big way. Licensed Copilot becomes deeply embedded in your Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Here is what it brings:

• In Word: It can draft reports, policy documents or meeting summaries using your own internal templates, pulling in data from SharePoint, past Teams conversations or email history.

• In Excel: It highlights anomalies, explains formulas, suggests charts or data models — all using your live data, including Power BI datasets if you have them.

• In Outlook: It helps draft emails, summarises long threads, and suggests tone or clarity improvements.

• In Teams: Copilot can summarise meetings (live or recorded), capture key decisions and follow-up actions, and surface related documents or past discussions.

These features help you create, automate, and collaborate, powered by your organisational data. This can bring your business ahead of the competitive curve, as AI will undoubtably continue to be used more and more in organisations.

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Integrated with SharePoint: Knowledge where you need it.

One of the biggest strengths of licensed Copilot is its understanding of your SharePoint environment:

• It can surface relevant policies, project plans, or internal documents, without needing you to provide exact file names or paths.

• It respects permission boundaries: if a document is restricted, Copilot will not pull it in for someone who doesn’t already have access. That means security is not compromised.

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Governance, compliance, and enterprise control

Here are some of the governance advantages of licensed Copilot:

• Audit logs and usage reports: IT and compliance teams can track how Copilot is being used.

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and sensitivity labelling: Copilot respects and integrates with your existing data protection policies.

• Enterprise security: Even in the free version, Copilot respects boundaries (no data training from your content).

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Pricing and Plans: What Does It Actually Cost?

1. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (free)

o For users with a qualifying Microsoft 365 / Entra ID account. (Microsoft)

o Includes web-grounded AI chat + agents (metered) + IT control.

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot (Business/Enterprise licence)

o UK (business / enterprise): £24.26 / user / month (annual subscription)

o This licence is in addition to your Microsoft 365 base plan (E3, E5, Business, etc.). (Microsoft)

Conclusion

The free Copilot chat is a great place to brainstorm, but it’s ultimately a surface-level experience compared to its full capabilities. If you want Copilot to understand your organisation — your documents, your meetings, and your workflows, the licensed version provides value.