Seeing a Copilot button on Windows tells you where you can open it. To work out what it can do, check which account is signed in and what that account includes. A personal Microsoft account and an employer account can have very different Copilot features, even when both open a chat panel.
Personal account: Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365
Microsoft Copilot is the consumer assistant available on the web and through apps, including on Windows. Use it for general questions, drafting and other supported chat tasks. If you have an eligible personal Microsoft 365 subscription, you may also have Copilot features inside Office apps, with limits and entitlements that depend on the subscription. Microsoft compares the personal offerings here. Check who in a shared subscription gets the AI entitlement before relying on it.
Work or school: Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot Chat is available with eligible Microsoft 365 accounts. It can use web information and, in supported contexts, content you give it or content already open in the app. A broader Microsoft 365 Copilot licence can add work-grounded answers across eligible organisational data and more in-app features. Access still follows your permissions and administrator settings. Microsoft’s work Copilot overview explains the contexts and licence differences.
Check what you can use in under a minute
- Open the profile menu in the chat and in Word or Excel. Confirm both use the account you intended.
- Check the subscription on the personal account or ask your work administrator which licence is assigned to you.
- Try a non-sensitive document in the app you actually use. If a button is missing, check app updates, licence and organisation policy before assuming a Windows setting will fix it.
For workplace files, use the account and Copilot experience your organisation has approved. A similar-looking personal chat does not inherit your work account’s protections.
