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Copilot’s AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it

Geeknetic Copilot AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 1

Copilot can now be used in Word, Excel and PowerPoint at no additional cost

Microsoft wants you to try the integration of its AI into its office suite. Now, it is possible to access Copilot within the company’s classic applications, as well as in its web versions. And who is it available for? For anyone who is already paying for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. In the following sections, I explain what the requirements and limits of this new functionality are.

In addition, I got to work and tried Copilot’s integrations in Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the first time. A little further down I explain to you what my first impressions and some of the things I’ve been able to do with this new artificial intelligence feature. Remember that all this has nothing to do with the free Copilot that you already know. It is the same Copilot integrated into Edge or Windows, one of the best AI tools that I recommend right now.

How to test Copilot AI?

As I told you above, the only requirement you must meet is have a subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. If you are a paying user of what was formerly known as Office, you have 60 credits to access Copilot AI capabilities in Microsoft applications. This detail is important: Copilot has a usage limit. And I can tell you that, if you start working seriously with this tool, in a short time you will have exhausted this limit.

If you want to know how many credits you have left, you just have to access account.microsoft.com. There, press Manage Microsoft 365link that you will see in the upper right part of the screen.

So, look at the section AI Credit Balance. As Microsoft mentions, one credit is consumed each time a request is made to Copilot within the package’s applications, such as Word or PowerPoint.

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 2

Following this logic, you will be able to use Copilot within Microsoft applications about 60 times a month. Every beginning of the month, the counter will reset. The company’s intentions are quite clear. What they are looking for in Microsoft is that users get used to using these tools. Once the credits run out, you need to pay for Copilot Pro, which It costs 22 euros per month. The credit limit then disappears and you can use the AI ​​as many times as you want.

Another important point to keep in mind is that AI features are only available to the subscription owner. If you pay for Microsoft 365 Personal, this makes quite a bit of sense. Now, if you pay for a family subscription, only the primary user will have access to Copilot in Word and the rest of the applications. The rest of the users with whom you share the subscription do not.

This is how Copilot works in Microsoft 365

Copilot features in Microsoft 365 programs were already available to users paying for Copilot Pro. Personally, I have never considered paying the 22 euros per month What Microsoft asks for this service. I just wouldn’t know how to take advantage of it, especially considering that There is a free Copilot for everyone. However, now that the company opens these functions to all Premium users, it makes more sense than ever to prepare a guide to explain to the Geeknetic reader how it works and, above all, how to take advantage of AI in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

For the following examples I have used Microsoft web applications. Now, I have been able to test Copilot in desktop applications and it works exactly the same. After all, everything this tool does is possible thanks to the cloud processingso the experience is the same in all versions of the main programs. This also confirms something else: Copilot in Microsoft 365 does not require Windows, a Copilot+ PC (see the ASUS Zenbook A14), or an NPU. That said, let’s see what this tool is capable of.

words

Just create a new word documentCopilot appears at the top. In this text field it is possible to write the first instructions to start with the document. For example, you may be asked for a draft in a specific format. In my case, I have used this first prompt:

  • Start by writing a greeting to Geeknetic readers. Explain that it’s now possible to use Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint if they have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.

Geeknetic Copilot AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 3

Something interesting is that the AI ​​itself has suggested some additional instructions to complete the request and turn it into a more effective order. You just have to press the send button for the machinery to start. Here you have the result of this request:

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 4

After writing your content, Copilot provides several options. It is possible keep the eraser, regenerate it or delete it. You can also edit the prompt or add new instructions for the AI ​​to apply changes. For example, I am going to ask you this:

  • He also talks about OneNote and Outlook.

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The results are good, similar to those that could be obtained with ChatGPT, but with the difference that in this case everything is integrated into Word. Additionally, there are two more ways to access Copilot. On the one hand, it is possible to invoke it from any paragraph of the document. This allows expand the textimplement modifications, rewrite it and any other action you can think of. It is even possible to create a table from a specific fragment.

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 6

On the other hand, you also have a sidebar that opens from the ribbon.

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 7

This opens an instance of the chatbot on the right side of the window. From there it is possible to ask you to implement changes to the document, to prepare a new draft or generate an image to insert directly into the text. It is also possible resolve doubtsjust like you would with Copilot on the web. Without a doubt, it is really useful for researching the content you are writing.

Excel

Copilot functions in Excel are many. It’s hard to cover the potential of this AI in a single article, so I’ll just give you two examples. From there, I invite you to try the potential that this tool has when it comes to managing spreadsheets.

First of all, it is possible to use Copilot to generate templates quickly. I’ve been testing a bit and finally this prompt It has given me good results:

  • I need a complete calendar for January 2025. The rows where the days appear should have a light red fill color and another row below to write things down. Also, at the top I want a row where the days of the week appear. Every Monday you should add a task called “Eat with friends.”

Geeknetic Copilot AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 8

Although he ignored the fill color issue, he generated an example that perfectly matched what I asked. The most interesting thing is that this example is possible paste it directly into the spreadsheet. In a few seconds I had my calendar for January 2025:

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 9

Then I asked him to add a top row where it said “January 2025.” In this case, the result was not what was expected. Simply, He gave me instructions to do it myself.. As you can see, Copilot also likes to throw balls outside.

Another thing you can use Copilot in Excel for is to analyze data. For example, after downloading an example Excel showing financial data classified by country, I asked Copilot this:

  • Which country appears the most times in column B?

Geeknetic Copilot AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 10

After giving me the information (I imagine it was correct), he proposed some follow-up questions. Without going any further, he invited me to ask him things like how many products were sold in each country or what is the best-selling product in each country.

With these two examples, the potential of AI applied to spreadsheets is clear.

PowerPoint

Finally, I’ll talk to you about Copilot in PowerPoint. The main feature I want to highlight here is that AI can generate a presentation out of thin air in a few seconds. Look, I started by trying this:

  • Make a presentation for the launch of a new mobile phone called Pear Phone. Use this list of specifications to create a section that simply explains the strengths of this device: [lista de especificaciones del Pixel 9].

Geeknetic Copilot's AI comes to Microsoft Office: We tell you how to use it 11

The result is what you see in the image above. In total, 9 slides with images, titles and explanations of each of the specifications.

Additionally, with Copilot you can generate images (especially useful in PowerPoint), show key data from a presentation, and, presumably, upload files Word and Excel to generate presentations from the data they contain. I haven’t been able to get the latter to work, but it may come with time.

Copilot in Microsoft 365 has a lot of potential (and the company wants you to know it)

After these initial tests, my first impression is that Copilot in Microsoft 365 has a lot of potential. As often happens with this technology, that of language models, there are still flaws. AI doesn’t always do what you ask and sometimes it goes off on a tangent. Now, as we integrate these tools into our workflows, the more they adapt to us, and vice versa.

Unfortunately, due to its limitations and credit system, Copilot in Microsoft 365 for subscribers It’s just baitone that takes you to Copilot Pro. Likewise, I sense that it will become the perfect excuse to raise subscription prices annually in the near future. For now, the monthly fee is already 3 euros more expensive. Fortunately, a new basic plan appears for those who do not want all these functions.

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