Executive Summary
- Microsoft’s new AI-powered product, Microsoft 365 Copilot, has been generating buzz for the last 6 months. In January 2024, small businesses can finally get their hands on it.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-assistant which is integrated across the 365 suite of apps and services, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneNote, Loop, and more. It enables users to use natural language commands to get things done even faster.
- 365 Copilot is now available for all business customers on a Business Standard or Business Premium subscription at a cost of £24.70 per user per month.
Introduction
The AI revolution is here.
From ChatGPT to Bing Chat to AI-powered features showing up in all of your favourite apps, there’s no doubt that generative AI is here to stay – but what’s the best way to get involved?
Back in summer 2023, we reported on the preview release of Microsoft 365 Copilot – a tool which brings powerful AI features to the core 365 apps you know and love. At the time, there was no timeline for the general availability of Copilot for small business customers.
On January 15th 2024, that all changed, with an announcement from Microsoft that 365 Copilot is now available to all small businesses across multiple 365 subscription plans.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered tool built by Microsoft and seamlessly integrated into the core apps in the 365 suite.
Whether you want to ask Copilot to write a first draft for you in Word, have it pull out the key trends in a dataset in Excel, or beautify an Excel deck in a matter of moments, 365 Copilot can do all of that and a lot more. Copilot also works with Microsoft Loop, Whiteboard, OneNote, and Teams.
To get a more complete picture of 365 Copilot, be sure to check out our dedicated blog post.
When was Microsoft 365 Copilot made available?
On January 15th 2024, Microsoft announced that the Microsoft 365 Copilot tool is now available for organisations of all sizes.
Prior to this date, and since November 2023, there had been a 300 seat (i.e. users or licenses) minimum, which meant that Copilot was out of reach for many small businesses. Now, there this is no minimum number of seats for purchase.
In addition, the previous requirement for a Microsoft 365 license has always been done away with, meaning users on Office 365 E3 and E5 can access the AI features of 365, too.
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost?
For business customers, 365 Copilot is now available as an add-on license for 365 Business Premium and 365 Business Standard customers.
For enterprise customers, Copilot is available for Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E3, or Office 365 E5 subscribers.
Subscribers to any of these plans can now purchase between one and 300 licenses at a cost of £24.70 per user per month.
How to start using Microsoft 365 Copilot today
If you’re a Get Support customer, the best way to get up and running with 365 Copilot is through your account manager.
As a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider, our team is perfectly placed to get started on your AI journey in double-quick time. If you’re not sure how to get in touch with them, just call us on 01865 594 000.
