A couple of noteworthy updates on Microsoft Copilot

on
Changes to Microsoft Copilot is rolling out with great speed, some are bigger than than others, but sometimes there are minor changes that doesn't really need a separate blog post. Yet many of these changes means a great deal to the end users and how they can use the tool, and we shouldn't forget to mention them. So here are a couple of announced changed and improvements to Microsoft Copilot.  Uploading images: Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot users with an Entra account will soon gain the ability to upload images and ask Copilot to analyze or describe them. This feature will be accessible through the Microsoft 365 app, Outlook, and Teams on web, desktop, and mobile platforms. Users can either take pictures with their mobile cameras or upload images directly from their devices. This feature itself, has been around in the public Copilot, but with this update it will now be available to anyone with an Entra account (not just copilot licensed users) and in both "wo...

Microsoft Copilot coming to Teams and Outlook for users with Entra accounts

on

Microsoft is expanding the Microsoft Copilot for users with Entra licenses, and the distinctions between the different versions are becoming increasingly blurred. Initially, when Copilot was released, there was the "Bing/Chat" version for commercial use. This version did not necessarily protect company data from being harvested or used for training purposes. Microsoft also released the enterprise-protected Copilot version for all users with an M365 E5 license about the same time. Although this version did not integrate searches or features with company data, it at least promised to keep data and queries private to the organization when used.

Subsequently, Microsoft revised the requirements for accessing the enterprise-protected version of Copilot, making it available to everyone with an Entra User License, effectively including virtually anyone within an M365 tenant.

Now, further changes are on the horizon for this group of users. Starting mid-January, Microsoft will enhance this offering even further. Soon, users will be able to access Copilot directly from Teams and Outlook, in addition to the existing web interface (BizChat). This is mentioned in Roadmap ID 420330

While I believe this is a positive development, it may cause confusion among users who might assume they now have Copilot licenses. Therefore, it is important to train and inform your users about the differences in behavior of these apps and integrations for users with and without a Copilot license. For instance, explaining why they might experience different results based on the actual license and version of Copilot they are using is essential.

If you want to help your users find the app, an admin can follow this guide to pin the app for the endusers. Or you can let them find it and pin it for themselves.