Copilot Chat (Basic)

Copilot Chat (Basic) is a browser-based generative AI that leverages large language models (LLMs) to assist users with tasks such as generating text or images, summarizing information, automating repetitive tasks, and more. Designed to enhance your productivity and improve your workplace experience, Copilot is intended to be intuitive and easy to use even by those without technical expertise.

Copilot Chat (Basic) is available to students, faculty, and staff at no additional cost. It does not interact with any content in your Microsoft 365 account or other external data sources. A separate, similarly-named product (Copilot for Microsoft 365) is available to University departments for an additional fee.

Logging In

1. Navigate to https://

1. m365.cloud.microsoft

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1. /chat/

2. Log in using your UT identity (either your IID or Microsoft 365 email address):
   

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3. To confirm that you are logged in to your UT Microsoft 365 account, look for the green Protected emblem in the upper right.

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Key Features

Copilot Chat (Basic) is designed to be easy to use. It:

• Is available via any web browser, with additional capabilities if you use Microsoft Edge.

• Responds conversationally to help you resolve work-related tasks.

• Provides contextually relevant responses and suggestions based on your prompts.

• Cites its sources when pulling data from the web.

Privacy and Security

Copilot Chat (Basic) is secure when you’re signed in with your UT account. It:

• Has additional data protections compared to the consumer version available to the public.

• Does not store the data you share with it or use it to train models.

• Is approved for use with public and controlled University data; Copilot Chat (Basic) is not approved for use with any confidential University data.

Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium)

Microsoft 365

Copilot (Premium) is available to staff and faculty for an additional fee on a per-user basis.

This Copilot integrates into several core Microsoft 365 applications, providing AI-powered assistance to enhance productivity across various tasks.

Key Features

• Integrated into most Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, etc.) online and in compatible Microsoft Office desktop installations.

• Works alongside you, helping to enhance your productivity and boost your creativity and skills:

  • Draft emails and documents

  • Create presentations

  • Summarize text, messages, and meetings

  • Assist with analyzing information and trends

• Seamlessly queries your data from almost any Microsoft 365 app:

  • Generate a summary of your Outlook inbox or calendar, including any outstanding action items.

  • Use the content of an email you are drafting in Outlook to suggest responses or relevant documents from OneDrive.

  • Generate a summary in Word of a PowerPoint presentation or vice versa.

• Protected by the University’s contractual agreements with Microsoft.

  • Approved for use with public, controlled, and confidential University data (including HIPAA, FERPA, and IRB classifications).

  • Prompts, responses, and data are kept confidential and are not used to train underlying LLMs.

  • Data stays within the boundary of the University’s Microsoft 365 tenant.

Will M365 Copilot

(Premium) Meet My Needs?

In early 2024, the Microsoft 365 team partnered with several departments across campus to trial M365 Copilot

(Premium) to approximately 140 faculty and staff. The pilot participants:

• Had varied job functions

• Were offered training material for M365 Copilot

• (Premium) and reported using the tool regularly

Feedback from this evaluation indicated that M365 Copilot

(Premium) was:

• Good at assisting with drafting documents and emails

• Good at developing presentations

However, the tool was found lacking in:

• Assisting with scheduling, particularly with pulling together multiple schedules

• Excel-related tasks and data visualization

Overall, initial testers reported being underwhelmed by M365 Copilot

(Premium), and approximately a third of the group discontinued their subscription to the product.

When using any AI tool, it’s important to consider the costs, benefits, and the type of problem you’re seeking to solve. To see if M365 Copilot

(Premium) is a good fit, please seek out documentation and reach out to the Microsoft 365 team with any questions.

Cost and How to Purchase

The Microsoft 365 team has partnered with Technology Resources (https://trecs.utexas.edu/) for acquisition of premium M365 service offerings and other add-ons:

• For current pricing for M365 Copilot

• (Premium) and other premium M365 services, please visit https://utexas.sharepoint.com/sites/TechnologyResources/SitePages/M365-App.aspx.

• To initiate a purchase or manage an existing license, please contact M365-Purchasing@utexas.edu.

Requirements

Users who wish to make use of M365 Copilot (Premium) features in Microsoft Office desktop apps must meet the following requirements:

• Microsoft 365 Apps for

• Enterprise

• Current or Monthly Enterprise Channel

The following configurations are unsupported:

• Microsoft Office 2019/2021/2024 (LTSC)

• Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel

• Device-based licensed installations of Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise

For unmanaged devices, please ensure that Microsoft Office desktop apps are installed from the user’s Microsoft 365 portal (requires A5 licensing).

For more information, please review https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-requirements.