UW Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s AI chat assistant, available in UW’s Microsoft 365 environment. Use it to draft and refine writing, summarize and find emails in Outlook, brainstorm ideas, and provide project help. Chat data is stored for only 30 days to provide data protection.
It’s important to sign in with your UW NetID every time you use Copilot. After signing in, always check for the green “Protected” shield. Signing in this way places your session under UW’s Microsoft agreement and its data protection terms. Microsoft won’t have access to your data or use your prompts and responses to train its models. If you’re signed in with a personal Microsoft account instead, none of those protections apply, even though the app looks the same.
Features
- Email Help in Outlook: Summarize long threads, find specific messages, and draft or refine replies right in Outlook.
- Writing and Communication: Ask questions, brainstorm ideas, and get help with writing and planning tasks.
- Research with Sources: Ask Copilot to look up work-related topics, and it will provide responses that automatically include footnoted links back to its sources.
- Project and Work Support: Get help drafting documents, outlining plans, organizing project notes, and thinking through work tasks.
- Easy Access: Open Copilot chat from multiple locations including Teams, your web browser, in Outlook, or from your desktop.
Availability
- SoN faculty
- SoN staff
- SoN students
Cost
- Microsoft Copilot chat is available at no additional cost.
Supported Platforms
- Outlook
- Microsoft Teams
- Web browser (it will appear automatically with MS Edge)
- Windows or Macintosh desktop
- Sign into Outlook and Teams with your UW NetID, and you will see the Copilot icon in the left menu.
- In the Edge browser, the Copilot icon is in the top right corner of the browser.
- On the Windows platform, click the Copilot icon in the taskbar and use your UW NetID to sign in with Microsoft. Macintosh users can access it via a Copilot desktop app.
- You can also sign in at Microsoft Copilot Chat (UWIT Service Catalog)
- After signing in, always check for the green “Protected” shield near the top of the screen. This confirms you’re signed in with your UW account and covered by UW’s data protection terms. If you don’t see it, sign out and sign back in using your UW NetID rather than a personal account.
If you have any questions or need help, please contact the SoN IT Service Desk.
View the linked resources below for additional information.
Microsoft Copilot with Commercial Data Protection (UWIT Knowledge Base)
Q: Does Copilot see my Teams chats, meetings, or files?
A: No. The version available to SoN is Copilot Chat, a standalone assistant. It doesn’t read your Teams conversations, meeting content, or files. In Teams, it’s just a quick link to open the same general-purpose chat you’d get in a browser.
Q: What’s the difference between Copilot and Purple?
A: Purple is a separate, UW-built AI tool. Copilot is Microsoft’s own AI assistant, built into the Microsoft 365 services UW already provides.
Q: Is my data protected when I use Copilot?
A: Only if you’re signed in with your UW NetID and see the green “Protected” shield will your prompts and responses be covered by commercial data protection. Microsoft will then not use your data to train its models. UWIT recommends not entering confidential data into Copilot, including HIPAA-regulated data.
Q: How long are my chats stored?
A: Chats are kept for 30 days. You can delete them prior to that at any time.
Q: Is Copilot available in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint?
A: Not currently for SoN.
