Microsoft Copilot review 2026: free app, Copilot in Word and Excel, Vision, plans, pros, cons and who it suits

Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant. It started as Bing Chat in February 2023, and today it is a free app for the web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android as well as a set of features built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and the Edge browser. This review covers what Copilot can do, what the plans cost, where it is strong and weak, and who should use it. It is based on Microsoft’s US pricing page, Microsoft Support articles and Microsoft’s blog as of October 2026. We have not run extended hands-on tests of every plan.

Microsoft Copilot at a glance

What Microsoft Copilot can do

• Chat with conversation modes. Microsoft’s help page lists five modes: Quick response for instant answers, Think Deeper (which takes up to 10 seconds and uses OpenAI’s latest reasoning models), Study and learn for guided explanations and quizzes, Smart (which uses OpenAI’s GPT-5 and decides how long to think), and Search for up-to-date web answers with citations. You pick a mode from the Quick response menu under your prompt. Some modes need you to sign in.
• Copilot in the Office apps. With Microsoft 365, Copilot works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, where it can draft documents, analyze data, build presentations and summarize email. Microsoft says it also works across apps, for example turning a file into a Word document or a PowerPoint deck.
• Voice and Vision. You can talk to Copilot, and during a voice conversation, Vision lets you share your desktop screen or your phone’s camera and ask about what Copilot sees. Microsoft notes that Vision explains but doesn’t act: it may highlight parts of the screen, but it won’t click, type or scroll. On Windows, voice starts from the Copilot key or Windows key + C.
• Connectors. Signed in with a personal Microsoft account, Copilot can connect to OneDrive, Outlook.com, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts, so you can ask it to find a file, an email or tomorrow’s appointments. Connectors work on Copilot.com and the mobile apps.
• Browse with Copilot in Edge. An experimental agent that clicks, types and moves between tabs in Edge for you, while you watch. Microsoft says it is rolling out to Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers in the US first, and it warns about prompt injection and advises against using it for banking or sensitive data. Our best AI browsers guide compares it with rivals.
• Images and audio. All paid plans list AI image creation and AI-generated audio (English only), with higher usage than the free app.
• Agentic AI on Premium and Pro. Microsoft 365 Premium includes limited use of “agentic AI that gets things done for you including advanced research and analytics,” and Pro the highest use.

Getting started

Microsoft’s help pages describe a few steps worth knowing on day one:

1. Choose a mode before you send. Select Quick response under the prompt box and switch to Think Deeper, Smart, Study and learn or Search. The mode stays on for follow-up questions until you change it.
2. Turn on connectors. On Copilot.com, select the + icon and Use connectors. In the mobile app, go to your Profile, then Connectors, and select Connect next to a service. Your Microsoft account must match the one you use for OneDrive or Outlook.
3. Start Vision from a voice chat. Begin a voice conversation, then select the screen share arrow on desktop or the camera icon on mobile. Stop sharing ends Vision but not the voice chat.
4. Bring your context with you. Copilot can’t import chat history or memory from other AI tools. Microsoft suggests exporting what matters, uploading it or saving it in OneDrive, Word or OneNote, and asking Copilot to summarize it into a profile.

What’s coming

On September 25, 2026, Microsoft announced a redesigned Copilot with Home, where Chat and Cowork (for delegated, multi-step work) come together, Office in Copilot, which builds Word, Excel and PowerPoint into the app, Code, for building small apps and dashboards from a description, and Autopilot, an agent that keeps working in the background. These features are aimed at work accounts and are rolling out through Microsoft’s Frontier early-access program first. Microsoft says Code will be in preview for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers later this year. Home users can also join the Frontier program for early access to experimental Copilot features, which Microsoft warns may change or be removed.

What Microsoft Copilot costs

Screenshot: Microsoft’s US pricing page for individuals, monthly prices shown: Personal $9.99, Family $12.99, Premium $19.99 and Pro $99.99. Switch to yearly billing (1) to save up to 17%; Premium (2) is the plan Microsoft labels best for AI. Captured by Universal Digital Assistant on October 20, 2026.

Microsoft says yearly billing saves up to 17%, and Personal, Family and Premium come with a one-month free trial. Personal and Family include AI credits and feature limits, and when you use them up a feature may stop working until your allowance resets. You can check your remaining credits in your Microsoft account under Services & subscriptions. Premium also unlocks Copilot features Microsoft keeps exclusive to Premium and Pro.

The old standalone Copilot Pro plan is gone, replaced by Premium. Businesses buy Microsoft 365 Copilot under separate business and enterprise plans. Our Microsoft Copilot plans explained guide covers both.

Pros

• Built into the tools many people already use. Windows, Edge, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook all have Copilot in the same place.
• A useful free app. Chat is free within limits, Study and learn is open to all Copilot users, and Microsoft says Think Deeper isn’t capped, though subscribers get priority when capacity is tight.
• Good value if you already pay for Microsoft 365. Personal and Family include Copilot in the Office apps alongside storage, Defender and the apps themselves.
• Connectors for Google too. Copilot can search Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar as well as Outlook.com and OneDrive.
• Clear safety guidance. Microsoft’s help pages explain plainly what Vision and Browse with Copilot can and can’t do.

Cons

• Copilot isn’t shared on Family plans. Only the subscription owner gets Copilot features, even on Premium and Pro.
• Vague limits. Microsoft describes usage as “higher than free,” “extensive” and “highest” rather than publishing numbers.
• Confusing product names. Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat and GitHub Copilot are different products with different plans.
• Some features are paywalled or US-first. Vision needs a Microsoft 365 subscription on a personal account, and Browse with Copilot is reaching US Premium subscribers first.
• The newest features target business first. Home, Cowork, Code and Autopilot are reaching work accounts and the Frontier program before home users.

Who should use Microsoft Copilot?

Choose Copilot if you already work in Windows and Microsoft 365, or if you want AI inside Word, Excel and Outlook rather than in a separate chat window. Try the free app first, then pick Personal or Family for Copilot in the Office apps, or Premium if you hit the limits. If you live in Google’s apps instead, read our Gemini review, and for a standalone assistant with a wider ecosystem, see the ChatGPT review and the Claude review. Compare directly in Copilot vs ChatGPT, see the Copilot profile for product facts, and read how to turn off Copilot if you’d rather not use it.