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Overview
Learn about the in-app version of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This generative AI tool within UO Microsoft 365 applications is available on a subscription basis to UO faculty and staff. It provides some safeguards.
Warning! At this time, only
low-risk (green) data has been approved for entry into any AI tools at the UO.
What is Copilot (in-app)?
- Copilot (in-app) is an AI assistant within the Microsoft 365 desktop and web applications.
- This protected version of Copilot is available through a subscription available only to faculty, staff, and researchers.
Accessing Microsoft 365 Copilot (in-app)
Purchasing a subscription
- M365 Copilot (in-app) adds Copilot to Microsoft Office productivity apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.
- It also adds a Work tab to the Copilot Chat website.
- For more information and to purchase a subscription, see the AI Subscription-based Licenses Purchase Request form.
Data protections in Copilot
The data you input won't leave our organization.
- Microsoft Copilot does learn from our organization, but only uses UO data to train Copilot for the UO.
- UO data is and will remain UO data.
Microsoft has elevated Copilot's data protections to enterprise data protection.
- That means certain additional controls and commitments apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, relating to the UO's overall agreement with Microsoft.
- Learn more in the More information section.
Safe data handling in Copilot
You must still follow all applicable rules and guidelines for data handling when using Copilot with Data Protection. Notably:
Restricted Content Discovery
Restricted Content Discovery (RCD) is a SharePoint setting that prevents a site's content from appearing in organization-wide search results and Microsoft 365 Copilot responses. The content will remain fully accessible to users who have direct permissions to the site. RCD limits the visibility of site content in enterprise search and Copilot.
RCD may be appropriate for sites that store sensitive, regulated, or restricted-use material where reducing exposure through search or Copilot is necessary.
RCD is not self-service. To request it for a site, submit a ticket through the Microsoft Office 365 Support Request page. For details on how the feature works, see Microsoft's Restrict discovery of SharePoint sites and content documentation.
Using Copilot (in-app)
Below are some examples of how Copilot (in-app) works within Microsoft 365.
You’ll also be able use Copilot Chat in Outlook to interact with your inbox, calendar, meetings, chats, and enterprise data using prompts such as:
- "Which unread emails are the most important? Summarize them, include relevant context from my chats and documents, and prioritize my responses."
- “Let me know when my next meeting with my skip-level manager is. Help me draft an agenda based on my current projects and create a first draft of a pre-read.”
- "Write a welcome email for a new hire. Include what they should do in their first four weeks, an org chart for the team with details on each person's role and current projects, and any documents they should review."
- “Arrange a meeting with /name to discuss [project or customer name].”
For more information, see Chat with Copilot in Outlook (Microsoft Copilot)
You'll be able to use Copilot Chat in Word to create documents from simple prompts to reformatting content into different formats like making a list into a table.
- You can draft by using the Draft with Copilot feature with a simple sentence or a more complex request with outlines, notes, or referenced files.
- Once a prompt as been used, you can modify it, have Copilot rewrite your content or its generated content, or overwrite existing content when you want.
- You can highlight text in an existing document to have Copilot transform it into something new.
You'll be able to use Copilot Chat in Excel to create and edit workbook files from simple prompts.
- Editing with Copilot is great for complex, multi-step tasks like reshaping data, merging sheets, or building reports with multiple elements.
- Note: For complex requests, Copilot may take a few minutes to generate an initial response and refine it, while it's running, you’ll see its reasoning in the pane.
- After you submit a prompt, Copilot analyzes your task and creates a step-by-step plan. It works directly in your document to carry out that plan, review the results, and evaluate whether the outcome matches your intent.
You'll be able to use Copilot in Teams to bring together data from your documents, presentations, email, calendar, notes, and contacts. You can also find and use info that's buried in documents or lost in conversations.
- You can prompt Copilot to summarize meeting notes with headings and action items.
- When recordings are available, you can view audio and video recaps of meetings for up to 120 days after their completion.
- You can catch up on what you missed by asking Copilot to summarize chats, channel discussions, and meeting transcripts and chats.
Limitations
Note: Limitations and features are subject to the UO software license agreement with Microsoft. While some features may be available, some may not be yet.
While Copilot (in-app) is powerful, its presence within each of the Microsoft 365 applications will be limited to certain capabilities within each app. New features are added frequently.
See Microsoft 365 Copilot help & learning (Microsoft Support) for ideas.
Responsible use
Any generative AI tool may produce unexpected results or errors. Users should verify the accuracy of the information provided.
Variants of Copilot
- Microsoft uses the name Copilot for its entire suite of AI tools.
- The most common usage at UO outside of this subscription service is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a web-based service, like the consumer version of Copilot, but with enterprise data protection.
More information
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