What is Copilot? Detailed guide to using Copilot AI

What is Copilot? This is a question that many users are interested in when Microsoft integrates AI technology into its products. Copilot is an intelligent assistant developed by Microsoft to improve work productivity and enhance creativity through the application of artificial intelligence. Please refer to the article below by 1C Vietnam to better understand this tool.

1. What is Copilot?

Copilot is an AI assistant developed by Microsoft, deeply integrated into the company's ecosystem of applications and services to support users in many different tasks.

Copilot is an artificial intelligence tool that acts as a companion, helping users get work done faster and more efficiently. More than just a simple chatbot, Copilot is built on advanced large language models (LLMs) and is integrated directly into Microsoft 365, Windows applications, and Azure cloud services.

Copilot's primary goal is to optimize workflows, enhance creativity, and help users get more done in increasingly complex work environments.

2. What are the outstanding features of Copilot?

Copilot offers many useful features to help users improve their work performance. Here are the most important ones.

2.1. Support for smart content writing

Content writing support is one of Copilot's most prominent features, helping users save time and improve text quality.

Copilot is equipped with contextual understanding and natural expression capabilities, allowing it to assist users in a variety of tasks related to text content:

• Content Suggestion: Copilot can write emails, reports, presentations based on brief instructions from the user.
• Edit and improve:Support for proofreading, summarizing, expanding or condensing text
• Multilingual Translation:Convert content between multiple languages with high accuracy
• Idea Generation: Suggest creative ideas for content based on user-provided topics

For example, when it comes to writing a customer feedback email, users just need to provide basic information, and Copilot will draft a complete, professional email that users can edit as needed.

2.2. Powerful programming assistant

Copilot offers advanced programming support that helps both new and experienced programmers increase their productivity.

Copilot's automatic code suggestion feature helps users write code faster and more efficiently. The tool can suggest individual lines of code or even entire functions and methods based on the context in the programming environment. Copilot analyzes existing source code, understands the programmer's intent, and suggests suitable code snippets.

In addition, Copilot also helps optimize source code by:

• Suggest code structure improvements
• Detect potential errors and suggest fixes
• Explain how complex code works
• Create unit tests to ensure the code works correctly

For example, when a programmer needs to write a function to process JSON data, they just need to write a comment line describing the intention, and Copilot will suggest the complete code snippet that implements that function.

2.3. Create images from text

Copilot's ability to create images from text makes it easy for users to turn ideas into visuals without design skills.

Copilot uses DALL-E technology, an advanced AI model that can generate images from text descriptions. Users simply describe the image they want, and Copilot will generate corresponding images with surprising detail and creativity.

To use this feature, users need to:

1. Open the Copilot or Designer tool in Microsoft applications
2. Enter a detailed description of the image to be created
3. Select desired artistic style or aesthetic (if required)
4. Wait a few seconds for Copilot to generate and display the images.
5. Select and download or edit additional images that best suit you

This feature is especially useful for creating illustrations for presentations, reports, or marketing content without hiring a professional designer.

3. Detailed instructions for using Copilot

After understandingwhat Copilot is, this section will guide users on how to install and use this tool effectively.

3.1. Installation and activation

Installing and activating Copilot is fairly straightforward, but there are a few steps to take to ensure the best experience.

To install and activate Copilot, users need to follow these steps:

• For Windows 11:
  

Step 1: Make sure Windows 11 is updated to the latest version

Step 2: Open Settings > Windows Update and install all available updates

Step 3: Restart your computer after updating

Step 4: Copilot will appear as an icon on the taskbar

Step 5: Click the icon to activate and sign in with your Microsoft account

• For Microsoft 365:
  

Step 1: Make sure your organization is subscribed to Copilot for Microsoft 365

Step 2: The administrator needs to grant Copilot permissions to the user account.

Step 3: Update Microsoft 365 apps to the latest version

Step 4: Open any Microsoft 365 application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Step 5: The Copilot icon will appear on the ribbon or as a separate tab.

Step 6: Click on the icon to start using

• For GitHub Copilot (for developers):
  

Step 1: Go to github.com/features/copilot and register an account

Step 2: Choose the appropriate subscription package (personal or business)

Step 3: Install extension/plugin for desired IDE (VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains)

Step 4: Restart IDE

Step 5: Sign in to your GitHub account when prompted

Step 6: Copilot will automatically activate and start suggesting codes.

After installation, users should test the feature by trying simple commands to ensure Copilot is working correctly.

3.2. Tips for effective use

To maximize the potential of Copilot, users should apply some techniques and best practices when interacting with the tool.

Here are some tips to help users use Copilot effectively:

• Use clear and specific language:
  
  • Instead of: "Write an email"
  • Recommended: "Write an email thanking ABC customers for attending the June 15 event and asking for their feedback"
• Break down complex requirements:
  
  • Instead of asking for a complete report at once, ask for it piece by piece: first the structure, then each piece of content.
• Learn to adjust your feedback:
  
  • If the results are not as expected, provide detailed feedback for Copilot to make corrections: "Do it again but focus more on aspect X"
• Use special commands:
  
  • "@Copilot" in Microsoft 365 apps for quick activation
  • "Explain this code" in the programming environment
  • "Summary of this document" in Word
• Combined with manual work:
  
  • Use Copilot to create a draft, then edit and personalize
  • See Copilot as a collaborator, not a replacement
• Take advantage of context window:
  
  • Copilot can "remember" conversations during a session, so take advantage of this to gradually build up complex content

Real-world example: When creating a presentation, instead of asking “Create a presentation on digital marketing,” try: “Create a 10-slide presentation on digital marketing trends 2023 for the sales team, focusing on social media and content marketing with real data.” Users can then continue to refine each individual slide.

4. Benefits of using Copilot

Understandingwhat Copilot iscomes with understanding the benefits it offers. Here are the main values that users can get.

4.1. Increase work productivity

Copilot offers significant benefits that increase productivity in the modern office environment.

Key productivity benefits of using Copilot include:

• Reduce time spent on repetitive tasks:Copilot automates many routine tasks like composing emails, generating reports, and simple data analysis, saving up to 70% of the time spent on these tasks.
• Speed up project completion:With fast processing and multitasking support, Copilot helps users complete projects 30-50% faster than conventional work.
• Improve Teamwork Efficiency:By summarizing meetings, tracking tasks, and creating shared documents, Copilot improves team communication and coordination.
• Reduce errors:Copilot's checking and recommendation tools help detect and fix errors in text, code, and spreadsheets, improving the quality of your work.
• Optimize workflows:Copilot learns from how users work and suggests improvements to make processes more efficient over time.

Many organizations report that after implementing Copilot, employees are able to focus more on creative work and decision making instead of wasting time on repetitive tasks. This not only improves productivity, but also increases job satisfaction and reduces employee burnout.

4.2. Improve creativity

Copilot is not only a productivity tool but also a source of creative inspiration, helping users develop new ideas and unique content.

Copilot supports creative development in several ways:

• Suggest ideas:When users are having trouble getting started on a project, Copilot can suggest different approaches. For example, when it comes to creating a marketing campaign, Copilot can suggest potential topics, messages, and approaches.
• Overcoming creative block:When users get “stuck” in the creative process, Copilot provides a new perspective or alternative approach to overcome this situation.
• Expanding the initial idea:From a simple idea, Copilot can help develop it into a full concept with more details and aspects.
• Create diverse content:From a basic guide, Copilot can create multiple versions of the content, allowing users to choose or combine the strongest elements.

A real-world example of improved creativity is when a graphic designer needs ideas for a new logo. They can describe the company’s industry and values, and Copilot will suggest multiple design concepts, potential icons, and color options. This not only saves time, but also expands the creative horizon beyond the designer’s initial ideas.

5. Is there a fee for Copilot?

Microsoft is offering Copilot on a subscription basis, with a price tag of $30 per month per user for Copilot for Microsoft 365. However, Microsoft also offers some basic Copilot features for free in Windows 11 and the Edge browser. The developer version, GitHub Copilot, has its own fee, ranging from $10-$19 per month depending on the service plan.

6. How does Copilot work?

To better understandwhat Copilot is, users need to understand how this tool works.

6.1. The Technology Behind Copilot

Copilot is built on an advanced AI technology platform, combining many components to create an intelligent and versatile assistant.

Copilot's technology platform is a combination of large language models (LLMs) and a powerful cloud infrastructure:

• GPT Model: Copilot is built on OpenAI's state-of-the-art Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models. These models have been trained on massive amounts of data, allowing them to understand and generate nearly natural-looking text.
• Bing AI: Microsoft has integrated Bing AI technology into Copilot, allowing it to access real-time information from the internet, providing answers based on the most up-to-date data.
• Azure Cloud: The entire Copilot system is powered by Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, ensuring:
  • Scalability to serve millions of concurrent users
  • Highly secure with advanced data protection layers
  • High performance with fast response time
  • Seamless integration with other Microsoft services

Copilot also uses machine learning algorithms to continuously improve its ability to understand context and increase the accuracy of its recommendations based on user feedback. This system architecture allows Copilot to efficiently handle a wide range of complex requests from writing text to generating code and images.

6.2. Integrated platforms

One of Copilot's main strengths is its ability to seamlessly integrate with many apps and services in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Copilot is integrated into many popular Microsoft apps, delivering a consistent AI-powered experience:

• Microsoft Word: Supports drafting, editing, summarizing, and formatting text. Copilot can write content on demand, correct grammar errors, and suggest ways to improve writing style.
• Microsoft Excel: Helps analyze data, create complex formulas, and transform data into visual charts. Users can ask Copilot to perform analysis using natural text instead of having to write formulas.
• Microsoft PowerPoint: Create presentations from simple outlines, design suggestions and images, create transitions and animations.
• Microsoft Outlook: Compose professional emails, summarize long conversations, organize your inbox, and prioritize important messages.
• Microsoft Teams: Summarize meetings, take notes, and track tasks assigned during meetings.
• Windows 11: Integrated directly into the operating system, allowing users to perform system tasks and search for information without opening a browser.
• Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code: Support programmers through code suggestions and programming logic explanations.

This integration helps users work more efficiently across the Microsoft 365 environment, with AI seamlessly assisting throughout the workflow.

7. Compare Copilot with other AI tools

7.1. Copilot vs ChatGPT

Copilot and ChatGPT have many similarities but also have important differences in functionality and features.

Copilot stands out for its seamless integration into Microsoft workflows, while ChatGPT offers greater flexibility as a standalone assistant. Microsoft 365 users will find Copilot more effective in their work environment, while ChatGPT may be better suited for a variety of platform-independent tasks.

7.2. Copilot vs Siri/Google Assistant

Copilot differs significantly from popular voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant in its intended use and capabilities.

Copilot and voice assistants like Siri/Google Assistant have some fundamental differences:

• Intended use:
  • Copilot: Designed primarily to support office work, content creation and programming
  • Siri/Google Assistant: Focus on everyday tasks, controlling devices, and finding basic information
• Content Creation Capabilities:
  • Copilot: Can create long, complex content like reports, emails, source code, presentations
  • Siri/Google Assistant: Limited to short responses, search information, and simple command execution
• Interaction and interface:
  • Copilot: Mainly text-based interaction, integrated in the application
  • Siri/Google Assistant: Primary voice interaction, designed for hands-free control
• System integration:
  • Copilot: Deep integration with Microsoft 365, Windows, and cloud services
  • Siri: Integration with Apple ecosystem (iOS, macOS)
  • Google Assistant: Integration with Google and Android services
• Ability to understand context:
  • Copilot: Understand deeper context, maintain complex conversations
  • Siri/Google Assistant: More limited contextual understanding, often handles each request separately
• Accuracy and handling:
  • Copilot: Built on a large language model with complex processing capabilities
  • Siri/Google Assistant: Often uses a combination of natural language processing and web search

Copilot is suitable for professional work environments where complex content creation and editing is required, while Siri and Google Assistant are designed for everyday personal use and smart device control.

8. Limitations of Copilot

Despite its powerful features, understandingwhat Copilot isalso includes being aware of its limitations.

8.1. Continuous Internet connection required

The dependence on internet connection is one of the notable limitations of Copilot, affecting its flexibility in use.

Copilot operates on a cloud-based model, which means all processing takes place on Microsoft servers rather than on the user's device. This leads to a number of limitations:

• Doesn't work offline: When there is no internet connection, Copilot is completely unusable. This can be difficult for users working in environments with unstable connections or while on the go.
• Dependent on internet speed: Copilot's performance is directly dependent on the quality of your connection. Slow connections can result in long response times, resulting in a less than optimal experience.
• Latency issues: In applications that require instant response like programming, latency due to cloud processing can disrupt workflow.

Real-world example: A developer working on a flight without Wi-Fi won’t be able to use GitHub Copilot to assist with coding. Similarly, a writer working in an area with an unreliable internet connection will have trouble using Copilot in Word to assist with content creation.

8.2. Dependency on Microsoft ecosystem

Deep integration into the Microsoft ecosystem is a strength but also creates certain limitations for Copilot.

Limitations due to dependence on the Microsoft ecosystem include:

• Compatibility limitations: Copilot works optimally in Microsoft applications, but has limited or no support for other platforms such as Google Workspace, Apple iWork, or third-party applications.
• Cost Barrier: To get the most out of Copilot, users need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 and Copilot services, which creates significant costs for individuals and businesses.
• Subject to Microsoft Policy: Copilot features and capabilities may change according to Microsoft policy, affecting established workflows.
• Limited customization: Compared to some open source AI solutions, the ability to deeply customize Copilot for specific needs is limited.
• Data Migration: Migrating data and workflows from the Microsoft ecosystem to another platform can be complicated due to Copilot's deep integration.

For example, an organization using a mix of Microsoft and Google applications will struggle to maintain a consistent Copilot experience across all platforms. Similarly, a small business with a limited budget may find the cost of subscribing to Copilot alongside Microsoft 365 a significant barrier.

What is Copilothas been clarified through this article - an advanced AI assistant from Microsoft integrated into the company's product ecosystem, providing support for content creation, programming and increased productivity. Although there are some limitations such as requiring an internet connection and depending on the Microsoft ecosystem, Copilot still represents an important step forward in applying AI to daily work, promising to continue to develop and expand its capabilities. If you have any questions about this AI tool, please contact 1C Vietnam for advice.