Microsoft recently introduced their own AI subscription plan for Microsoft 365, called Microsoft Copilot Pro. I had the opportunity to access the early version, so let's explore its capabilities.

TL;DR: This is a significant advancement as an AI assistant, seamlessly integrating into everyday tools to make generative AI more accessible. While it has its limitations and does not yet match the capabilities of ChatGPT 4.0 Turbo, I noticed considerable improvements during my testing period. I strongly recommend giving this a try and explore its potential in educational contexts.

Microsoft 365

Ever since the teaser of Copilot emerged, I eagerly anticipated the release of what appeared to be the smartest productivity tool. However, upon its release, I was disappointed to find that it wasn't available in Hong Kong. Fortunately, the university is exploring the organizational version of Copilot, and I gained early access to it.

This version of Copilot is seamlessly integrated into the Microsoft 365 suite, enabling you to leverage GPT within Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

logging into the web version of Microsoft 365, you'll notice a new Copilot icon on the toolbar located at the left side of the interface. This icon represents Copilot Chat.

Copilot Chat

One of the most intriguing aspects of Copilot during my testing was the version I had access to – the organization version of Copilot. It differs significantly from both the "Free" and "Pro" versions. The most notable distinction is the absence of the "Creative, Balanced, Precise" tab and the "GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo" toggle in the Pro version.

Although I couldn't find an official explanation, from what I've gathered, the organizational version prioritizes commercial data protection. This means that no data leaves the organization, resulting in a slightly different chatbot and the removal of some features.

What can you do when you want the chatbot to be more creative? Over time, you may find responses from Copilot or ChatGPT to be quite similar. After some searching, I discovered that if you're using the Microsoft Edge browser, you can call out Copilot and notice a toggle at the top labeled "Work, Web."

"Work" represents the version available in the web version of Copilot that you have access to. On the other hand, "Web" mirrors the "free" version of Copilot, with the added assurance that your data is being protected, visible in the top left corner.

As of now, organization users like us don't have access to GPT4 Turbo. However, the field of AI is evolving rapidly, so by the time you read this, things may have already changed.

Microsoft Word

First, let's observe what happens when we provide Copilot with a prompt.

Within seconds, you'll notice a fully drafted article generated by Copilot. Is it the best article? Probably not... So what if you're not satisfied with the draft? You have a couple of options: you can either delete it entirely and start again with a different prompt, or you can modify parts of the article.

To modify a section, simply select the line or paragraph you want to change and click "Rewrite with Copilot." Copilot will then regenerate the paragraph for you, offering three options. You can choose to "replace" the highlighted text entirely, or "insert below" to add new content while retaining the original. You can then edit the inserted text at a later time.

However, here lies the first shortcoming of the current version of Copilot in Word: you can only request a rewrite, but you cannot provide detailed instructions on what changes you want. Hopefully, this limitation can be addressed in a future update.

The second way to interact with Copilot is by clicking on the Copilot icon in the toolbar, which opens the Copilot chat window. Here, you can ask Copilot anything about the document you're working on.

For instance, while reading a Word document, you can request Copilot to provide a summary of the document.

Additionally, you can ask questions about the content, and Copilot will retrieve answers based on the document's context.

If this feature works effectively, it has the potential to evolve into a version of the AI teaching assistant that many envision when discussing AI in Education.

Next, let's discuss how to leverage Copilot to assist us in crafting prompts for our articles. Given Copilot's current functionality, it's advisable to begin with a more comprehensive prompt.

My usual approach involves initiating a conversation with Copilot about the topic I intend to write about. I ask it to break down the article into key points.

Then, I review the breakdown, ask Copilot to refine it further until I'm satisfied, and finally, I request Copilot to transform the refined breakdown into a prompt.

It's important to note that the current version of Word's Copilot can only process prompts within 2000 characters. If your prompt exceeds this limit, you can either edit it manually or ask Copilot to shorten it for you.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Transitioning to PowerPoint, which operates similarly to Word, you can activate the Copilot chat window and command Copilot to generate a presentation for you within minutes.

One notable feature I'll demonstrate is the "create presentation from file..." option. Interestingly, this function was not available when I initially started drafting this review, so let's explore it together.

I will use the article on “VR in education,” which I had Copilot compose in the previous section, as input to see how the presentation materializes.

When you provide Copilot with a Word document, it analyzes the document to create an outline. It then uses this outline to generate the slides for your presentation.

When you upload a Word document to Copilot, it meticulously analyzes the document and crafts an outline. Subsequently, it leverages this outline to generate the slides for your presentation.

Copilot not only populates the slide with relevant content but, for most slides, also identifies and includes a matching picture or video. Additionally, it provides speaker notes for each slide, further facilitating your presentation process.

As illustrated in the video, the initial version of the presentation may appear quite basic. This simplicity might suffice for your needs. However, if you seek to refine the visual appeal of the slides, you can explore further customization options. Located in the toolbar, the “Designer” button, situated next to the “Copilot” button, grants access to AI-driven design tools. These tools offer various layouts, serving as a solid foundation for enhancing your presentation. Although the style options are currently somewhat limited, they provide a valuable starting point for crafting your subsequent presentations.

Should any aspect of the generated content—be it text or images—not meet your preferences, you have the freedom to modify them as you see fit.

Here is a quick demonstration, I’ll speed through this one but you get the idea.

Microsoft Excel

Admittedly, I'm not a frequent user of Excel. My experience is limited to exploring the built-in Copilot tutorial. Remarkably, Copilot allows users to request data analysis and modifications using plain text, eliminating the need to search for specific commands or formulas. This feature is incredibly convenient. However, I've encountered opinions online suggesting that Copilot might not perform as effectively with certain individual datasets. If you're intrigued, I encourage you to test it with your own data and share your experiences.

Copilot has been integrated into several other components of the Microsoft Office suite, notably Microsoft Outlook and Teams. In Teams, it boasts the capability to transcribe meetings in real-time, allowing participants to ask Copilot questions about the meeting's content. However, I haven't personally tested this feature, so I can't vouch for its effectiveness.

Regarding Outlook, Copilot offers assistance in composing emails. Based on my experience, this functionality did not meet my expectations. I found it more efficient to utilize Copilot chat's capabilities within the dedicated chat feature and manually transfer the content into an email.

On a brighter note, a particularly useful feature of Outlook is its ability to summarize email or email chains. This proves invaluable when needing to quickly grasp the essence of ongoing discussions or revisiting conversations from the past.

One limitation I've encountered is the inaccessibility of Microsoft Designer and image creation tools in Hong Kong, even with an organizational license. I'm hopeful for expanded availability in the near future.

Conclusion

In summary, Copilot presents a significant advancement as an AI assistant, seamlessly integrating into everyday tools to make generative AI more accessible. This accessibility is especially beneficial for those who previously found chatGPT intimidating or inconvenient. Furthermore, its operability without the need for a VPN positions Copilot as a superior AI tool in Hong Kong. The key barrier to mass adoption of generative AI in the region has been accessibility; if Microsoft 365 Copilot can overcome this hurdle, it stands to significantly increase its adoption among educators.

It's important to acknowledge that the current iteration of Copilot, while impressive, has its limitations and does not yet match the capabilities of ChatGPT 4.0 Turbo. Part of this can be attributed to its hurried release in response to Google's generative AI productivity suite, resulting in some initial bugs. However, during the two weeks I've spent testing it, I've noticed considerable improvements as many of these issues were addressed.

I strongly recommend giving Copilot a try and exploring its potential in educational contexts. Your experiences and innovative uses of Copilot could provide valuable insights to others. Please share how you've integrated Copilot into your teaching methods.

Thanks for reading,

Ken Yu