Reviewed by Harsh Desai · Last reviewed:
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's free everyday AI assistant for chat, voice, and vision
Best for
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft's free consumer AI assistant available at copilot.microsoft.com. It is built into Windows 11 with its own dedicated key, lives in the Edge sidebar, and comes as standalone apps on macOS, iOS, and Android.
What does Microsoft Copilot do?
- •Conversational chat ask anything about writing, planning, brainstorming, or daily questions and get answers grounded in live web results with citations.
- •Copilot Voice hold natural spoken back-and-forth conversations that stay free and unlimited when signed in.
- •Copilot Vision let Copilot see your screen, a webpage, or your phone camera and talk you through what it observes.
- •Image creation type a description and generate images with Microsoft's Designer models directly inside the chat.
- •Pages turn any Copilot answer into an editable collaborative canvas that works like a living document.
- •Memory and personalization signed-in users get memory that carries context across conversations automatically.
- •File uploads drop in a PDF, Word doc, or image and ask Copilot specific questions about it once signed in.
- •Everywhere access the web at copilot.microsoft.com, the built-in Copilot app and key on Windows 11, the Microsoft Edge sidebar, a macOS app, and iOS and Android apps.
What are Microsoft Copilot's limitations?
- •Free tier caps the free plan limits daily use of the newest models and image generation, so heavy use needs a paid Microsoft 365 plan.
- •Office Copilot is paid Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook requires a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription, not the free assistant.
- •Best inside Microsoft the assistant is strongest on Windows and loses some pull if you live entirely in Mac or Google tools.
- •General, not specialist for serious coding GitHub Copilot fits better, and some users still rate Claude or ChatGPT higher on the hardest reasoning tasks.
Pricing:
- •Free $0: chat, Copilot Voice, Copilot Vision, image creation, and web answers on the web and mobile apps; sign in for memory and file uploads.
- •Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo: adds Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, higher AI limits, and 1TB OneDrive for one person.
- •Microsoft 365 Family $12.99/mo: the same Copilot-in-Office features and storage shared across up to six people.
- •Microsoft 365 Premium $19.99/mo: the top consumer tier with the highest Copilot limits and the latest models; it replaced the retired Copilot Pro.
Our Verdict
Microsoft Copilot earns 8.3/10 because it delivers reliable web-grounded answers, unlimited free voice conversations, screen understanding through Copilot Vision, and tight integration inside Windows 11. The free tier covers everyday needs for most people without a credit card, and image creation plus Pages make it more useful than plain text chat. Microsoft puts both OpenAI GPT models and its own MAI models behind one free assistant, which is rare at this price.
For the Basic User, Microsoft Copilot removes friction. You press the Copilot key on a Windows laptop, speak naturally, or drop in a photo and get an instant answer. Memory keeps your preferences without repeating yourself, and the iOS and Android apps work on the go.
For the Vibe Builder, the mix of Voice, Vision, and Pages makes a genuinely fun creative flow. You can talk through ideas, point Copilot at a competitor's live website, then drop everything into an editable Page that becomes your brief. The honest limitation is that the hardest reasoning tasks can still feel a step behind Claude or the latest ChatGPT.
Skip it if you live entirely inside Google Workspace, where you should consider Gemini instead, or if you need serious coding help, where GitHub Copilot fits better.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost in 2026?
Microsoft Copilot itself is free in 2026, with no charge for chat, Copilot Voice, Copilot Vision, and image creation. Paid upgrades come through Microsoft 365: Personal at $9.99/mo, Family at $12.99/mo, and Premium at $19.99/mo, which replaced the retired standalone Copilot Pro plan.
What's the difference between free Microsoft Copilot and the paid Microsoft 365 plans?
Free Microsoft Copilot gives unlimited voice chats, Copilot Vision, image generation, web answers with citations, memory, and file analysis at copilot.microsoft.com and inside Windows. Paid Microsoft 365 plans add Copilot directly inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, lift daily caps on the newest models, and include 1TB of OneDrive storage. The free version already meets most consumer needs.
Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT: which should you choose?
Microsoft Copilot is free, built into Windows 11, and grounds every answer in live web results with citations. ChatGPT has a stronger reasoning engine on its paid tiers. Choose Copilot for zero cost and Windows integration; choose ChatGPT if you need top performance on the hardest tasks.
What is Copilot Vision?
Copilot Vision is a Microsoft Copilot feature that lets the assistant see your screen, a webpage, or your phone camera and explain what it observes in natural conversation. You can ask follow-up questions while it looks at the same content. It works on the free plan and helps with troubleshooting or understanding visual content.
Who should pick Microsoft Copilot, and which alternatives are worth considering?
Basic Users who live inside Windows or want a free, always-available assistant should pick Microsoft Copilot. Vibe Builders who enjoy voice chats and visual understanding also benefit. Microsoft makes the tool strongest for its own ecosystem. If you need deeper coding help, consider GitHub Copilot. For pure reasoning power, many still rate Claude higher.
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Microsoft Copilot
Free tier available