Copilot Pro Features

See how Copilot Pro works inside your favorite Microsoft 365 apps with real-world examples.

App-by-App Capabilities

Click each app to see what Copilot Pro enables that Free cannot.

Free (via Chat)

  • Can explain Excel concepts
  • Suggest general formulas
  • Answer questions about Excel features

Pro (In-App)

  • Analyzes your actual spreadsheet data
  • Generates formulas based on your columns
  • Creates charts and PivotTables from natural language
  • Highlights, filters, and sorts data on request
  • Forecasting and trend analysis
  • Python-powered advanced analytics
💡 Real-World Example

A sales manager asks: "Show me the top 5 products by revenue last quarter and create a chart." Copilot Pro analyzes the spreadsheet and generates both the filtered view and visualization instantly.

Note: Copilot in Excel requires AutoSave enabled (file saved to OneDrive) and works best with data formatted as Excel tables.

🔗 Official Excel Documentation

Free (via Chat)

  • Drafts content from scratch based on prompts
  • General writing assistance
  • Answers questions about writing techniques

Pro (In-App)

  • Drafts from up to 20 of your files, emails, or meetings
  • Rewrites sections in different tones
  • Summarizes lengthy documents instantly
  • Finds information across multiple documents
  • Ready-made prompts for quick starts
💡 Real-World Example

An HR manager says: "Create a job posting based on our template and the requirements email from the hiring manager." Copilot Pro pulls from both sources to create a tailored posting.

🔗 Official Word Documentation

Free (via Chat)

  • Suggests presentation structures
  • Helps outline slides conceptually
  • General presentation advice

Pro (In-App)

  • Creates full presentations from Word docs, PDFs, or outlines
  • References up to 5 files (Word, PDF, TXT, Excel, Loop)
  • Generates speaker notes automatically
  • Rewrites slide text (Auto-rewrite, Condense, Make professional)
  • Organizes and summarizes existing decks
  • Reads and searches PDF files
💡 Real-World Example

A consultant says: "Turn this 15-page proposal into a 10-slide executive summary." Copilot Pro reads the Word document and generates a complete slide deck with key points and speaker notes.

🔗 Official PowerPoint Documentation

Free (via Chat)

  • Can help draft email templates
  • Suggests professional phrasing
  • General email etiquette advice

Pro (In-App)

  • Summarizes long email threads instantly
  • Drafts contextual replies based on conversation
  • Prepares meeting briefs from related emails
  • Adjusts tone (formal, casual, direct)
  • Identifies action items in threads
💡 Real-World Example

A sales executive has a 47-message thread with a client. Before a call: "Summarize this thread and list unresolved issues." Copilot Pro provides a concise summary with action items in seconds.

Free

  • Not integrated with Teams
  • No meeting features
  • No chat history access

Pro (In-App)

  • Real-time meeting summaries
  • Catches you up on meetings you missed
  • Identifies action items and owners
  • Searches chat history for specific topics
  • Summarizes channel conversations
💡 Real-World Example

A project manager missed a 90-minute meeting: "What decisions were made and what are my action items?" Copilot Pro provides a structured summary with decisions, tasks, and responsible parties.

Real-World Scenarios

See how Copilot Pro solves common workplace challenges.

📈

Data Analysis & Reporting

Challenge: A business analyst needs to identify key trends in monthly sales data but isn't an Excel formula expert.

Pro Solution: In Excel, they ask "Show me the top 5 performing products last quarter" or "Generate a pivot table comparing regional sales growth year-over-year." Copilot analyzes the data and generates insights automatically.

📧

Email Management

Challenge: A manager returns from PTO to 200+ emails and needs to quickly prioritize and catch up.

Pro Solution: In Outlook, Copilot summarizes long threads, highlights urgent items, and drafts responses—turning hours of catch-up into minutes.

🎬

Presentation Creation

Challenge: An HR specialist needs to create a training presentation from a 20-page policy document.

Pro Solution: In PowerPoint: "Create a 10-slide presentation summarizing the new remote work policy from this Word document, focusing on key employee responsibilities." Copilot generates the slides with speaker notes.

👥

Meeting Catch-Up

Challenge: A project lead has back-to-back meetings and missed an important team standup.

Pro Solution: In Teams, Copilot provides an instant summary: decisions made, action items assigned, and who's responsible—without watching a 60-minute recording.

📝

Document Drafting

Challenge: A marketing manager needs to create a campaign brief pulling from multiple source documents.

Pro Solution: In Word: "Draft a campaign brief based on the product specs document, last quarter's results presentation, and the strategy email from the CMO." Copilot synthesizes all three sources into one cohesive document.

Requirements & Notes

To use Copilot Pro in M365 apps, you need:

  • Copilot Pro subscription
  • Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription (for desktop app access)
  • Files saved to OneDrive (AutoSave enabled for Excel)

🔒 Data Privacy

Microsoft does not use your chat data, conversations, or attachments to train AI models. Your data is not sold to third parties—this applies to both Free and Pro.

Official Microsoft Documentation

Learn more from official sources.

Ready to Decide?

Go back to our comparison to see which tier fits your needs.

View Decision Guide