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Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's free assistant (copilot.microsoft.com) with web search — distinct from GitHub Copilot for code.
Ratings
Editorial scores for beginner task fit (1–10). Not lab benchmarks — verify pricing and features on official sites.
Pros
- Strong free tier with web search
- Natural fit on Windows
- Useful inside Microsoft 365 when licensed
Cons
- Not a coding IDE tool
- Best Office features require paid Microsoft plans
- Less flexible than ChatGPT for power users
Best use cases
- Draft an email
- Summarize a document
- Research a topic in Edge or Windows
- Brainstorm in Word or Outlook (with license)
Best when
- You are on Windows or Edge and want a capable free assistant immediately.
- You already pay for Microsoft 365 and want AI inside Word, Excel, or Outlook.
- You want web search bundled without juggling multiple apps.
Not ideal when
- You need serious software development assistance (this is not GitHub Copilot).
- You live entirely outside Microsoft and Google is your main ecosystem (try Gemini).
- You need source-contained study on your own PDFs (use NotebookLM).
How it compares
- Different product from GitHub Copilot, which is for code inside VS Code.
- Free tier competes well with ChatGPT Free; Claude still leads many writing tests.
- Less specialized than Perplexity for research citations or Cursor for coding.
Caution
Confirm which Copilot you are using — free web chat vs paid Microsoft 365 Copilot — before trusting workflow claims.