Using Microsoft Copilot in Education
What is Copilot?
Copilot is a chat-based AI tool developed by Microsoft designed to enhance productivity and creativity across various Microsoft 365 applications. It employs advanced AI algorithms such as GPT-4o to assist users in generating content, summarizing information, and streamlining tasks. It uses a multimodal model that supports text, image, voice, and file inputs. The Pro version (which NIU does not license) works across applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams.
What can Copilot do?
The basic version of Copilot operates similarly to ChatGPT, using GPT-4o technology to answer questions and generate content, including images. This version allows you to interact through a conversational interface, asking questions or requesting tasks.
Copilot can process larger files (up to 50 pages or 50,000 words) and handle multiple filt types, including PDFs and spreadsheets.
Copilot includes:
- Chat with text, voice, and image capabilities based on GPT-4o and DALL-E 3 (and the opportunity to try GPT-5 for deeper reasoning)
- Summarization of documents and web pages
- Image creation
- Web grounding (use of web search to provide additional information to respond to your prompt)
- Commercial data protection (When accessed via your NIU credentials)
How do you access Copilot?
You can access copilot chat directly at copilot.microsoft.com or click the button below. Be sure to click the Sign In button in the upper right and choose Sign in with a work or school account.
In addition to direct access in the browser, you can also use Copilot in the following ways:
- Microsoft Edge browser by clicking the icon in the upper right corner
- Microsoft Teams by clicking the Copilot icon in the left navigation
- Microsoft Copilot app for Windows and mobile devices
Copilot Limitations
In the basic version of Copilot, you can send up to 50 messages in one conversation. After reaching this limit, you will need to start a new conversation (i.e., click the New topic button or just open another instance of Copilot in a new tab/window).
Prompts are limited to 4000 characters in length. You can also upload a file for Copilot to reference or summarize; those documents should be shorter than 50 pages and around 50,000 words or less. While you can upload larger files, Copilot will only process up to those limits. You can break longer documents into smaller files so that Copilot can handle each part effectively.
As with other generative AI tools, Copilot cannot replace humans' understanding and decision-making skills. Also, it may not fully comprehend complex queries or provide advice on specialized academic subjects with the same level of depth that a human expert could. Furthermore, while it can produce images and draft content, the creativity and originality of these outputs may not always match the unique creations of a human. You should always review AI-generated content for accuracy and appropriateness.
Privacy and Security
NIU's Microsoft 365 license provides faculty, staff, and students with Commercial Data Protection when you access Copilot and sign in with your NIU Account ID. There are four primary benefits of that protection:
Searches
Searches are not linked to individual user accounts
Prompts
Prompts and responses are not saved
Training
Chat data is not used to train large language models (LLMs) used by AI
Privacy
No one at Microsoft can view your data
Copilot vs. ChatGPT (Free)
In many ways, the basic version of Copilot is similar to the free version of ChatGPT. However, there are a number of key differences.
Similarities
- Both can search the Internet when necessary.
- Both utilize GPT-4o as the default model.
- Both can analyze and generate images.
Differences
- ChatGPT free accounts have rate limits for use of GPT-4o, GPTs, data analysis, file and image uploads, and image creation. Use is downgraded to GPT-4o mini or blocked until the rate limit resets.
- Copilot does not include rate limits.
- Copilot is introducing GPT-5 to chat; click the Try GPT-5 button to try it out (eventually, GPT-5 will be the default model, at which point the button will be removed).
Additional Resources
- Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (1-hour self-paced online course from Microsoft)
- Get Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot (1.5 hour self-paced online course from Microsoft)
- Overview of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
- The art of the prompt
- How to use Microsoft Copilot
- Copilot in Edge
Updated 11/26/2025
This guide was developed in collaboration with Omar Alshuredah, M.S.Ed student of Educational Technology, Research, and Assessment. Omar served as a CITL intern during the Spring 2024 semester.