- Overview
- Accessing Copilot Chat
- Copilot Chat - The Basics
- Copilot - Web and Desktop Apps
- Additional Resources
- Get Help
Overview
Microsoft Copilot is an AI chatbot and generative AI tool you can use to better search both the web and internal UW documents, generate text and data, and much more.
Copilot Chat (similar to ChatGPT, but with a Microsoft ✨flair✨) is available to all UW users with a UW Office 365 license; however, only users with a separate Microsoft Copilot license can use Copilot features in Office web and desktop apps (things like Word or Excel).
Learn more about getting a license to Copilot by visiting the Copilot UWare page.
Accessing Copilot Chat
Office 365 homepage.
To get to Copilot Chat, go to your UW Office 365 homepage using any web browser (make sure you're signed into your UW NetID!); if you're already in an Office web app (like Word or Excel), you can click the App Launcher (in the top left of the page; it looks like 9 dots in a grid) and select 'Microsoft 365 Copilot'.
Once you're at your homepage, you should see 'Welcome to Microsoft 365 Copilot' at the top of the page with a search bar underneath. Simply type your search, request, or instructions for Copilot into that bar and hit 'Enter' to have Copilot get to work.
Copilot Chat - The Basics
In the top right of Copilot, you'll see the Copilot toolbar.
The colorful 'Copilot' button can always take you back to the Copilot start screen (for instance, if you want to start a new chat).
Your list of recent chats / searches is underneath the Copilot button, organized by date. Click on any of them to open that conversation with Copilot, where you can both read the history of the conversation, as well as ask more questions or give additional instructions for the same topic.
A neat feature of Copilot Chat is that it also can reference your UW-specific data: things like meetings, chats, documents (in OneDrive or SharePoint; it can't see stuff on your Desktop), and UW Office 365 emails. That means you can even ask it questions about your daily work!
And of course, use the 'New chat' button to ask Copilot a question on a new topic.
Using Copilot in UW Office 365 Web and Desktop
You can also use Copilot to help with tasks in the various UW O365 apps, both in your browser and on your desktop! Each app's Copilot interface looks a little different, so try them all out and take them for a spin. The thing they all have in common is a bright and shiny 'Copilot' button being added to your toolbar.
Don't see the Copilot button in Office Desktop, even if you have a Copilot license? You may need to activate Copilot for Desktop. It's only a few steps, which you can learn about by clicking here.
But there's so much more!
There's a lot that Copilot can do, and it's getting more features all the time... we can't keep up! Instead, we recommend bookmarking Microsoft's own 'Help & Learning' page, which they keep up-to-date with the most recent tutorials available.
Want to learn how Copilot can make editing Word documents easier? Let it be so.
Or how about Copilot's ability to give design pointers in PowerPoint? No problemo.
Microsoft's Copilot 'Help & Learning' can teach you this and so much more! Click here to visit the site.
I need help using Copilot!
Need more info about Copilot? No worries! First, check out our deep dive into Copilot at UW and see if it can answer your question; it covers a ton of topics, so someone might have already asked your question before.
If that doesn't do it, check out the above mentioned 'Help & Learning' center on the Microsoft site. There are millions using Copilot every day, so it's likely that they have an article covering your area of question.
Also, Copilot itself is a great resource for troubleshooting and questions! If you're able to access Copilot using our steps at the top of the page, try asking Copilot your question; sometimes, it's clever enough to be able to fix its own problems (no guarantees it doesn't become self-aware in the process).
Finally, if you're still having trouble, please send a ticket to us at help@uw.edu, and we'll try to get it sorted out.