What is Microsoft's AI called?
Microsoft's AI is called Copilot. It is a brand covering several products: Microsoft Copilot (the free consumer assistant), Microsoft 365 Copilot (in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, announced March 16, 2023), GitHub Copilot (code), and Security Copilot. About 17% of U.S. adults report using Copilot.
Why — the first-principles explanation
Microsoft made a naming decision most people miss: Copilot is not one product, it's a suffix. Google put its assistant in one app called Gemini. Microsoft pushed the assistant into the software you already use and stuck the same word on all of it. So "Copilot" means something different depending on which window you're in — Copilot in Excel writes formulas, Copilot in Teams summarizes the meeting you missed, GitHub Copilot writes code.
The strategy follows from where Microsoft's advantage sits. Microsoft doesn't own the biggest chatbot audience; it owns the documents. Microsoft 365 Copilot's whole trick is that it connects a language model to your organization's data through the Microsoft Graph — your files, emails, chats, calendar. A general chatbot can write a decent quarterly summary. It can't write your quarterly summary, because it has never seen your numbers. That connection, not the model, is the product.
The naming got literal in 2025: the Microsoft 365 app — the thing formerly called the Office app — was renamed the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. The word migrated from feature to product to the icon on your taskbar.
A common misconception worth killing: Copilot is not simply "ChatGPT with a Microsoft badge." Microsoft has a deep partnership with OpenAI and has used OpenAI models, but it also builds its own in-house MAI models, and which model answers a given Copilot request varies by product and changes over time. Treat "which model is under this Copilot?" as a question with a dated answer, not a permanent one.
An example that makes it click
Think of Gemini as a very smart assistant sitting at a desk in the lobby. You walk over and ask her things.
Copilot is the opposite arrangement: Microsoft hired the same assistant and gave her a chair in every room. One in your spreadsheet, one in your inbox, one in your code editor, one in your security console. Same name on every badge, different job in every room. And because she works inside the building, she can read the filing cabinets — which is the entire reason she's more useful than the one in the lobby, who's never seen your files.
Key facts
- Microsoft's AI brand is Copilot, announced for Microsoft 365 on March 16, 2023 as "your copilot for work."
- Microsoft 365 Copilot uses large language models and connects your data via the Microsoft Graph to apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
- The Microsoft 365 (Office) app was renamed the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, with a new name and icon reflecting Copilot's integration.
- 17% of U.S. adults report using Copilot — third behind ChatGPT (44%) and Gemini (24%) — Pew Research Center, 5,119 adults, February 17–23, 2026.
- The Copilot brand spans multiple distinct products: consumer Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Security Copilot, and Copilot in Windows.
▶ The 60-second explainer (script)
Microsoft's AI is called Copilot. But here's what trips people up: Copilot isn't one product. It's a suffix. Google put its assistant in a single app named Gemini. Microsoft pushed the assistant into the software you already use and stamped the same word on all of it. Copilot in Excel writes formulas. Copilot in Teams summarizes the meeting you missed. GitHub Copilot writes code. Security Copilot chases threats. Same brand, different jobs. That follows from where Microsoft's real advantage is. Microsoft doesn't own the biggest chatbot audience — it owns your documents. Microsoft 365 Copilot connects a language model to your organization's data through the Microsoft Graph: your files, emails, chats, calendar. Any chatbot can write a decent quarterly summary. Only this one can write yours, because it's the only one that's seen your numbers. The connection is the product, not the model. Microsoft announced 365 Copilot in March 2023, and by 2025 renamed the Office app itself the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. One myth to kill: Copilot isn't just ChatGPT in a trench coat. Microsoft partners with OpenAI and uses its models, but also builds its own MAI models, and which model answers depends on the product and the month. Pew puts Copilot at about 17% of American adults.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
Is Copilot just ChatGPT?
No. Microsoft partners with OpenAI and has used OpenAI models in Copilot, but it also builds its own MAI models, and which model serves a request varies by product and changes over time.
Is Copilot free?
The consumer Microsoft Copilot has a free tier. Microsoft 365 Copilot for work and GitHub Copilot are paid subscriptions. Check Microsoft's current pricing page — as of 2026-07 the tiers are still shifting.
What happened to Cortana and Bing Chat?
Both were folded into the Copilot brand. Cortana, Microsoft's old voice assistant, was retired; Bing Chat was renamed Copilot.
Can Copilot read my company's files?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to work with data you already have permission to access, via the Microsoft Graph. That's its core feature — and the main thing IT departments configure carefully before turning it on.
Is GitHub Copilot the same product?
Same brand, different product. GitHub Copilot is a coding assistant that suggests and writes code in your editor. It predates the 365 Copilot branding.
The same question, asked other ways
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