Overview

• A free Copilot Chat sidebar is rolling out inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for Microsoft 365 business subscribers at no additional cost.
• The in-app chat is web-grounded and content-aware for the open file, whereas a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license enables reasoning across organizational data and unlocks Researcher and Analyst agents.
• Microsoft says GPT-5 is being integrated into the experience, with licensed Copilot users getting priority access, faster responses, file uploads, and image generation.
• Beginning in early October and completing by mid-November, Microsoft will automatically install the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices outside the EEA, with organizational opt-outs available to IT admins via the Apps Admin Center and limited opt-out reported for personal users.
• Microsoft highlights enterprise governance through the Copilot Control System and Microsoft 365 admin tools, and cites internal studies showing longer answers and higher user satisfaction.