The Kaipher Editorial Team 
Microsoft has announced that, starting September 15, 2025, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote will include free Copilot Chat for all Microsoft 365 subscribers. The update adds a sidebar in each app, delivering contextual AI assistance without switching windows or manually uploading files.
Users can type “ / ” to search for relevant documents, with suggestions for recently used files, making it easy to reference content already open in their workflow. This feature streamlines report writing, spreadsheet analysis, and presentation creation by integrating AI-driven support directly where users are working.
Across all Office apps, the chat interface now supports longer prompts and multiple image uploads, plus quick access to built-in pages, agents, and generation tools—all at no extra cost for standard Microsoft 365 subscribers.
Enhanced Features and GPT-5 Integration
Microsoft says the free Copilot Chat is powered by GPT-5, producing answers that are 30% longer, better structured, and enriched with visuals and citations embedded alongside content. User satisfaction rose by 11% during the pilot, reflecting improvements in clarity and relevance.
Seth Patton, General Manager of Microsoft 365 Copilot marketing, emphasizes the assistant’s “content awareness,” enabling it to understand the open file and tailor responses accordingly. All interactions remain protected by enterprise-grade security and follow existing Microsoft 365 compliance protocols.
With GPT-5, features such as image recognition and specialized agents (for tasks like data analysis or text review) have been enhanced, providing robust support for generating visual reports and actionable insights without leaving the app—as noted by WebProNews in their coverage.
Premium Features Still Require Subscription
While the free tier offers substantial capabilities, Microsoft preserves premium exclusives in its Copilot Premium plan at $30 per month. Subscribers gain advanced reasoning across entire work datasets, rather than single files, plus priority access to uploads, faster response times, and guaranteed availability during peak periods.
Premium users also unlock sophisticated AI agents like Researcher and Analyst, which can reason over personal and shared documents, emails, meetings, and chats simultaneously. Enhanced AI search, project-specific Notebooks, and advanced Create tools for graphic design further differentiate the paid tier.
Industry analysts note that offering a free entry-level Copilot will drive AI adoption among small and medium businesses previously hesitant about cost, while positioning the premium subscription as the upgrade path for deeper data insights. With nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies already using Copilot, this move is poised to expand AI-powered productivity across organizations.
