Microsoft is expanding the reach of its AI tools by introducing Copilot Chat as a free feature within its Office apps. Starting today, all Microsoft 365 business users will see a new Copilot Chat sidebar across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, making AI-powered drafting, analysis, and summarization tools more accessible without requiring an extra license.
“Copilot Chat is secure AI chat grounded in the web—and now, it’s available in the Microsoft 365 apps,” said Seth Patton, General Manager of Microsoft 365 Copilot product marketing. “It’s content-aware, meaning it quickly understands what you’re working on, tailoring answers to the file you have open. And it’s included at no additional cost for Microsoft 365 users.”
The free version of Copilot Chat can rewrite documents, summarize long reports, analyze spreadsheets, and even generate presentation slides in PowerPoint. However, the premium Microsoft 365 Copilot license—priced at $30 per user, per month—still offers deeper integrations. Licensed users can tap into more advanced features such as reasoning across entire organizational data, file uploads, image generation, and priority access to the latest models like GPT-5, with faster responses and higher reliability during peak times.
Earlier this year, Microsoft added similar AI-powered Copilot tools to consumer Microsoft 365 subscriptions, but those came with price increases. This time, business users won’t face any adjustments in subscription costs. Instead, Microsoft is broadening its offering: starting in October, the company plans to bundle its specialized Copilots for sales, service, and finance into the existing Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, effectively lowering the overall price for businesses relying on multiple AI solutions.
The move reflects Microsoft’s strategy to normalize AI assistance across all levels of productivity software—bringing everyday features to all users, while still keeping its most powerful capabilities behind a paid tier.
