Microsoft is rolling out free access to Copilot Chat inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for all Microsoft 365 business users starting today.
The new sidebar will allow users to draft documents, analyze spreadsheets, create slides, and summarize content—without requiring a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
“Copilot Chat is secure AI chat grounded in the web—and now, it’s available in the Microsoft 365 apps,” said 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.”
The free version offers rewriting, summarization, and presentation support, but advanced functionality still requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, priced at $30 per user, per month. Paid subscribers gain access to premium features like reasoning across entire organizational data, file uploads, image generation, and the latest GPT-5 technology with faster response times and higher availability.
Earlier this year, Microsoft bundled Copilot into consumer Microsoft 365 plans alongside subscription price hikes. For businesses, however, the company confirmed there will be no pricing changes with this rollout. Additionally, in October, Microsoft plans to merge its sales, service, and finance Copilots into the Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, offering cost reductions for some enterprises that rely on these AI tools.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
