Microsoft Copilot

Tags AI

BCE logoMicrosoft Copilot refers to two Microsoft offerings regarding its advanced AI applications and tools:

  • Microsoft Copilot Chat, also known as Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, offers a free, secure AI chat experience powered by the latest large language models like GPT-4. It includes the same capabilities as Microsoft Copilot, such as Copilot Pages, file upload, and enterprise data protection, but also allows users to discover, create, and use agents directly from the chat interface. This makes Copilot Chat an intuitive and accessible tool for interacting with AI and transforming business processes across an organization.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot is an advanced AI-powered tool designed to enhance productivity by generating various types of data, including text, images, and code, based on user-provided information and existing data. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, providing users with powerful capabilities to streamline their work tasks. Due to costs, IT&A cannot offer these tools to the general campus community. Specific roles on campus may find particular value in these tools. Departments may purchase licenses for $360 annually for individuals through IT&A using the purchase process outlined below.

Getting Started with Microsoft Copilot Chat

Faculty, staff, and students can access Microsoft Copilot Chat using their Microsoft accounts from Ithaca College.

Website

  1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
  2. Navigate to https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat
  3. Sign in with your Ithaca College credentials if prompted.
  4. Use Microsoft Copilot Chat by selecting a built-in prompt or entering a query into the prompt textbox. Copilot will respond with an AI-generated answer.
  5. To begin a new session, click the New Chat button.

Edge Sidebar

  1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
  2. Click the Copilot logo in the Edge sidebar to open Copilot Chat.
  3. Sign in with your Ithaca College credentials if prompted.
  4. Use Microsoft​​​​​​​ Copilot Chat by selecting a built-in prompt or entering a query into the prompt textbox. Copilot will respond with an AI-generated answer.
  5. To begin a new session, click the New Chat button.

Options

Getting Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated into various Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Loop, and Teams. It leverages advanced AI models to help users generate content, summarize information, provide insights, and automate repetitive tasks.

  • In Word and Loop, Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot can quickly summarize lengthy documents, highlight key points, and provide concise overviews. It assists in drafting text by offering suggestions for content creation, provides real-time grammar and spell-checking, and gives constructive feedback on writing.
  • In Excel, Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot offers suggestions for complex formulas, analyzes data trends and patterns, creates charts and graphs, and facilitates real-time collaboration.
  • In PowerPoint, Microsoft 365 Copilotgenerates slides based on provided outlines, offer design suggestions and summarizes entire presentations.
  • In Outlook, Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot provides suggestions for email responses, helps draft emails, and quickly catches users up on lengthy email threads.
  • In Teams, Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot generates summaries of meetings, capturing key discussions and action items. It also manages tasks and follow-ups from meetings and creates detailed meeting agendas.

License Purchase

Departments can purchase Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot for MS365 licenses for individual faculty or staff members using the following process. Each license costs $360 per year and is charged to the department of the requestor. Please allow up to one month to complete this process.

  1. The requestor will complete this form:
  2. The requestor's supervisor will get a notification to approve the purchase
  3. The license will be assigned, and prorated annual cost will be charged to the requestor's department
  4. Each September, users assigned a Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot will be contacted via email to confirm whether they wish to have a license purchased for the following year, beginning on October 31.

Activation

For Windows users, follow these steps to activate your license:

  1. Open the search function on your taskbar and type “Company Portal.”
  2. Under “Recently Published Apps,” select the “Copilot MS365 License” box.
  3. Click “Install” and follow the on-screen instructions.
  4. After installation, restart your device.
  5. Once complete, you can access the Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot feature by locating the Copilot icon in any Microsoft 365 application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.).
  6. To confirm that the Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot features are available, look for the Copilot icon in your Windows apps.

For macOS users, the Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot features should appear automatically in your Microsoft 365 apps. If they do not, try restarting your device. Once activated, look for the Copilot icon in any Microsoft 365 application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.).

Data and Privacy

As long as you are signed into your College account, Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot or Copilot Chat does not use your data to train foundation models, and enterprise data protection applies. With enterprise data protection, prompts and responses in Microsoft​​​​​​​ 365 Copilot or Copilot Chat​​​​​​​ are now saved for future consideration. For detailed information about data protection, refer to Copilot's Privacy and Protections (microsoft.com) and Data Protection Considerations when using Generative AI Tools.

To confirm you are using Copilot with data protection, go to https://copilot.cloud.microsoft.com and locate the green "protected" icon at the top right of the window, as seen below.

Copiolt

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