Microsoft keeps renaming things to be various versions of “copilot”. A snarky toot pointed out that there were now 4 MS products called Copilot. I thought there were more, so I asked Copilot (MS365 Copilot™). It thinks there may be at least 7 different Copilots? But its LLM may be out of date…
Prompt:
How can I keep track of all of the things that Microsoft now calls “Copilot”? Is there a map or guide?
🤖 - AI-Generated Content via MS365 Copilot
You’re not alone—“Copilot” now spans a whole family of Microsoft offerings across consumer, enterprise, developer, security, and even hardware (Copilot+ PCs). Here’s a compact, practical way to map the landscape and keep it straight, plus trusted sources to track changes as they happen.
The Copilot “family” at a glance
1) Microsoft Copilot (free, consumer & work account)
Chat-style assistant in Windows, Edge, and the web (copilot.microsoft.com). With a work/school sign‑in, prompts are protected by commercial data protections, but it does not access your tenant data unless you have Microsoft 365 Copilot. ramsac.com
Good for: general answers, drafting, summarizing, image generation. ramsac.com
2) Microsoft 365 Copilot (paid add‑on for orgs)
Enterprise-grade AI woven into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat that can securely use your Microsoft Graph (emails, files, meetings, chats) for context. Licensing prerequisites apply. learn.microsoft.com, learn.microsoft.com
Why it’s different: in‑app experiences + tenant-grounded chat; admin controls, analytics, and agents.
Licensing & prerequisites: Microsoft 365/Office 365 base plans; add‑on pricing and gov variants documented here. learn.microsoft.comlearn.microsoft.com
3) Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (included with many M365 subscriptions)
A web/app chat experience (m365copilot.com / Microsoft 365 Copilot app) with enterprise protections; complements (but doesn’t replace) the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot in‑app features. learn.microsoft.com
4) Copilot Studio (low-code to build custom copilots/agents)
Create and govern task‑ or process‑specific copilots, connect data, extend M365 Copilot with plugins; licensed per tenant with message capacity. licensings…hool.co.uk, powerplatf…rmtips.com
5) GitHub Copilot (developer)
AI pair programmer in VS Code/Visual Studio; different (and separate) licensing tiers for individual vs enterprise. powerplatf…rmtips.com
6) Security Copilot (security operations)
AI assistant for SecOps workflows (Microsoft Sentinel, Defender, etc.); separate SKU and scope. (Microsoft Learn and product pages group it under “Which Copilot is right for your org”.) learn.microsoft.com
7) Copilot+ PCs (hardware category)
Windows devices with powerful NPUs (≈40+ TOPS) enabling local AI features like Cocreator, enhanced Studio effects, Live Captions/translation, and the evolving Recall experiences—rolling out across Snapdragon/AMD/Intel. learn.microsoft.com, blogs.windows.com, yourwindowsguide.com
Name changes & why it got confusing
- The Microsoft 365 app (formerly Office) was rebranded to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app in early 2025, while “Copilot” also remains the name of the AI assistant. This dual use of the brand caused understandable user confusion. windowsforum.com, pcgamer.com
- Microsoft’s guidance article “Decide which Copilot is right for you” clarifies distinctions among Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, Security Copilot, and more. Bookmark this—it’s the closest thing to an official “map.” learn.microsoft.com
A simple decision tree (how to pick the right one)
- Need tenant‑aware help inside Office apps? → Microsoft 365 Copilot (paid). Check licensing prerequisites first. learn.microsoft.com
- Just want a safe, web‑grounded chat with work protections? → Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (included). learn.microsoft.com
- Build process‑specific copilots/agents or extend M365 Copilot? → Copilot Studio. licensings…hool.co.uk, powerplatf…rmtips.com
- Developers writing code? → GitHub Copilot (dev SKU). powerplatf…rmtips.com
- Security analysts? → Security Copilot. learn.microsoft.com
- Evaluating hardware for local AI features? → Copilot+ PCs overview & device guidance. learn.microsoft.com, blogs.windows.com
How to keep track (your ongoing “radar”)
- Bookmark Microsoft Learn pages
- “Which Copilot is right for your organization” (updated frequently, links out to service descriptions and admin controls). learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing page (details/prereqs, gov/edu notes, links to service descriptions). learn.microsoft.com
- Copilot+ PC training module (hardware/category definitions). learn.microsoft.com
- Track licensing & naming updates from reputable partners
Mirazon’s 2026 licensing changes overview and similar partner write‑ups often summarize changes swiftly and pragmatically. mirazon.com - Watch product blogs for feature rollouts
Windows Experience Blog for Copilot+ PC features (e.g., Live Captions, Cocreator) across chip families. blogs.windows.com - Use a one‑page internal “Copilot cheat sheet”
Keep a simple matrix: Product → Scope → Where it runs → Access/License → Good for.
It’s easy!
How many confused instructors, students, and staff will we have, after the announcement that Copilot is our supported AI platform. Which copilot? Just the free one? Just the Windows one? All of them? etc.