Why can't we still access Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Mar 22, 2023

Microsoft

If you Google "Microsoft 365 Copilot release date," it says March 16. Even though Microsoft announced it at the "The Future of work with AI" event on that exact date, most users still can't access it because it still hasn't "really launched" yet.

Microsoft held a meeting on March 16, and thousands of people attended to listen to what Satya Nadella and Jared Spataro had to say. Many people, including us, guessed that with the release of GPT-4, Microsoft would also announce its GPT-4 powered solutions for the 365 apps. Microsoft announced its newest AI features at the event and showcased how-to videos. However, the Microsoft 365 Copilot release date wasn't mentioned specifically.

In the official blog post, Microsoft says that only 20 customers are able to use the feature right now. The company is testing its new features with these 20 "privileged" customers and still working on bug fixes, improvements, etc. According to Microsoft, eight of these customers are in Fortune 500 enterprises. "We will be expanding these previews to customers more broadly in the coming months and will share more on new controls for IT admins so that they can plan with confidence to enable Copilot across their organizations," says the blog post.

Microsoft 365 Copilot release date is still not set, and we are currently waiting for an official announcement. As the quote taken directly from the official blog post shows, Microsoft's goal is to expand the preview to customers more broadly in the coming months.

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot free?

"We will share more about pricing and details in the coming months," says Microsoft in the official blog post. The exact price information is still unclear, and it could either be free or not. We will update you once the company shares more price information.

What features are on the way?

When we finally hit the Microsoft 365 release date for mass usage, we will be welcomed by many AI-powered solutions on the business apps like Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, etc. For example, it will help you separate important emails from others on Outlook and generate a whole new PowerPoint presentation from scratch according to your prompt.

Copilot is now integrated into Microsoft 365 and has two features: working alongside users in various apps and Business Chat. Business Chat uses natural language prompts and analyzes data to generate status updates. Recent GitHub data shows that Copilot increases productivity, saves time, and allows for more fulfilling work for developers who use it.

If you want to take a look at the tutorial videos and details on each business app, check out our "Microsoft 365 Copilot: What features does it have" article.