Since the launch of OpenAI ChatGPT In the fall of 2022, Microsoft has become one of the companies The largest investorsMicrosoft leveraged these investments to boost its own search engine, Bing, with Generative AIinfusing it with a New generative search experienceThe company also developed a competitive AI chatbot, Microsoft Copilot, which can be accessed as a independent site or through Bing.
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Users can take advantage of Microsoft Copilot to ask questions, upload imagesand request AI generated imagesjust as they can do with ChatGPTHowever, Copilot differs slightly from its most popular competitorChatGPT. We tell you how to make the most of it.
How to use Microsoft Copilot
Visit Copilot.Microsoft.com (or download the application on your phone). Enter your directions in the text area at the bottom of the screen and send them to Copilot. You can also add photos to your request or use the microphone feature for voice prompts.
You can ask Copilot unlimited questions per day even without signing in, but you'll be limited in how many responses you can give. For longer conversations and more complex features, you'll need to sign in with a Microsoft or Github account. A Microsoft account can be an outlook.com or hotmail.com email address and password, or the login information you use for Microsoft services like Office, OneDrive, or Xbox.
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You can create a Microsoft account using any email address, including Gmail and Yahoo!.
Microsoft Copilot is programmed to provide a more search engine-like response to a query. If you have a personal account, when you sign in you'll have access to three conversation-style options for Copilot to respond to your requests: creative, balanced, and precise.
Each of these formats is self-explanatory: choosing “more creative” will give you original and imaginative responses, and may also generate images; “more balanced” is similar in tone to ChatGPT, an informative and friendly chat with a human response; and “more precise” will give concise and direct responses.
You can set your language and country preference by adjusting the settings in the hamburger menu in the top right corner. Logging in also allows you to upload files with your query.
Log in to Copilot with a personal account.
Screenshot by Radhika Rajkumar/ZDNET
If you have an account through your workplace or school and choose to log in, you'll be able to switch between two Copilot modes in the top left corner: Work and Web.
Work is the enterprise arm of Copilot, integrated with Microsoft 365 to function as a productivity assistant that can summarize documents, help you prepare for meetings, brainstorm ideas, organize tasks, and more. It can leverage your company’s internal data and comes with enhanced security to ensure privacy when uploading files.
The Microsoft Copilot bot differs slightly from ChatGPT, ZDNET's pick for most popular AI ChatbotWhile prompts are entered into conversations in a similar way, the response format, conversation style, and user interface are all different.
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Here's a breakdown to help you get to know the new Microsoft Copilot window:
- Text area: The bottom of the screen has a text area where you can enter your directions and questions for Copilot.
- Add an image: Microsoft allows users to upload a photo for Copilot to process using AI, much like… Google Lens and ChatGPT. By clicking on the photo icon you will be able to add an image.
- Microphone: If you prefer to use your device's microphone instead of your keyboard to give Copilot instructions, you can click the microphone in the text area to speak to the AI chatbot.
- New topic: When you click New Topic (a chat bubble icon next to the text area with a plus sign), Copilot will clear your existing conversation and prompt you to move to a new one.
- Sources: Copilot is an AI-powered conversational search engine, and while it doesn't offer answers in list format like a search engine would, it does gather most of its answers from the web, thanks to Bing. When replying to a message, Copilot will include all sources and links below the message bubble.
- Suggested follow-up questions: After you receive a response from Microsoft Copilot, it will generate suggestions for different follow-up questions that you can use. For example, if you ask Copilot “What color is the sky?”, it might suggest follow-up questions like “Is the sky blue on other planets?” or “How does pollution affect the color of the sky?”
- Indication counter: When Copilot responds to a query within a conversation, you'll see a number to help you count how many replies you've received. There's a limit of four replies per topic for users who aren't logged in, and no limit for logged in users.
- Like, Dislike, Copy, Export, Share and Read Aloud buttons: As you scan the screen, you'll notice these buttons below each Microsoft Copilot response.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can Microsoft Copilot do?
Like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot can generate conversational text, writing essays, create letters, summarize content, write codeand Answering complex questionsIt also has internet access, allowing it to provide up-to-date answers on current events, something the free version of ChatGPT lacked. Until recently.
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The co-pilot can also use AI to generate images (for signed-in Microsoft users) within the chat window. All you have to do is ask it to create an image and describe the characteristics you'd like the photo to have, and it will generate an image right away. It can also process images you upload to the chat to give you information about them, such as identifying plant species.
How do I access Microsoft Copilot?
The Microsoft Copilot artificial intelligence chatbot can be accessed through Copilot.Microsoft.com website or Bing. Users need a Microsoft account or a Sign In ID to sign in, or they can use it without signing in and have limited answers per topic.
Can you use the new Microsoft Copilot on mobile devices?
The Microsoft Copilot chatbot is still available through the Bing mobile app. You can start a conversation on the web and scan a QR code to continue it in the mobile app.
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This app provides a direct line to the Copilot chatbot, with the benefits of not having to go through a website when you want to use it and the ability to add widgets to your phone's home screen.
Does Microsoft Copilot use ChatGPT?
Copilot does not use ChatGPT, as ChatGPT is not itself an LLM. Instead, Copilot uses a model from OpenAI's GPT-4 architecture to perform its functions. ChatGPT also uses a model from that model family, however, it uses the more advanced one: GPT-4o.
Is Microsoft Copilot giving incorrect answers?
Like ChatGPT and other large language models, the new Copilot is prone to providing misinformation. Most of the results Copilot provides as answers are taken from online sources, and we know better than to believe everything we read online.
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Similarly, the Copilot chatbot can generate nonsensical responses that are not related to the original question, also known as hallucinations. It is important to take precautions when having conversations with AI chatbots, such as never sharing personal and private information and never trusting them with medical or life-threatening information.
How is Microsoft Copilot different from a search engine?
Compared to a search engine, the biggest difference between Copilot and other AI chatbots is the conversational tone in presenting search results, thanks to the wide language model (LLM) operating in the background. Intelligently formatting search results to answer a specific question can make it easier to find something online.
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In addition to the search capabilities already provided by the standard Bing search engine, Copilot is a full-fledged AI chatbot that can do many things similar to tools like ChatGPT. Both Copilot and ChatGPT, for example, can generate text, such as an essay or poem, write code, or ask complex questions and keep a conversation going with follow-up questions.
Does Microsoft have an AI image creator?
Microsoft also introduced Bing Image Creator as part of its generative AI tools. Currently, Microsoft is using DALL-Ean AI image generator from OpenAI. It can be accessed from within Copilot – users can tell Copilot to create images within an existing chat rather than having to go to a separate website.
Also: How to use Bing Image Creator (and why it's better than DALL-E 2)
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
The Copilot chatbot is completely free. You can use it to ask questions, get help with a problem, or seek inspiration.