Is Co-Pilot Licence worth it?

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Like many I have used ChatGPT and Copilot and am using it more and more. I have the M365 licence which includes CoPilot "chat" which I use for one-off specific requests.

Has anyone used and have advice on the licenced version of Copilot?

As I understand it, under the licenced version, I can grant Copilot Access to my network. It won't share or release any of my data elsewhere, but it will mean that I can use Copilot in a much wider context as it will have access to all my files etc? In particular I am thinking of how it could help with budgeting, analysis data etc.

I would like to hear from users as to their experience, pro's and con's - is the licence worth it?

 

[fisicx]

If you give co-pilot access to your files I’ll find another broker.

Co-pilot sends everything to Redmond. Nothing will ever be private again.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

That's one thing I was worried about. I saw that it kept all your data in your own network

 

[Ozzy]

I saw that it kept all your data in your own network

This would be an inportant item to ensure clarity on, as it does impact data security/privacy.

Personally, as a client of yours, it wouldn't bother me if you used AI and it helped your business, but I would be concerned if my data ended up somewhere I wasn't comfortable with and ended up 'public'. So I share the same concerns as @fisicx but not as much as.

You need to double check that it uses a local agent to process the data, and not uploading it somewhere else.

For example, I use OpenAI, but I do use bespoke custom private agents for any processing I do and I have them each trained on what I need to obtain with my data ringfenced. What it means is I lose out on the broader knowledge of OpenAI, but it does mean my data is not used in training and not shared outside the agent network I create.

 

[Kerwin]

I have Google Gemini with my Google Workspace (Microsoft alternative) tenant. It is useful for long emails as it provides a summary for you and also helps with writing docs etc. I mainly just use it for asking questions though which I find very helpful.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Glad I asked!

The intention was to use it for "management" tasks, budgeting, cashflow trends etc - the intention is not for it to be used for any client data. Not sure if I can select which parts of my network it can access (ie. excluding client files?)

I have also raised the question with our Compliance team to see their thoughts!

Sounds like it may be more hassle than its worth!

 

[Ozzy]

Analysing data like you mention is, I'd suggest, one of the best uses of AI tools and I'm sure worth pursuing.

 

[Edith_J]

I’ve read a lot about how Copilot really shines if you use a bunch of M365 apps every day like Word, Excel, Outlook and deal with lots of data and documents. It’s supposed to be super handy if you want an AI assistant to pull info from your internal files and speed things up.

But giving it access to all my data worries me, so I haven’t taken the risk. I do use AI a lot for searching info and small tasks though, and it’s really convenient.

 

[Ilyas Mohammed]

If you give co-pilot access to your files I’ll find another broker.

Co-pilot sends everything to Redmond. Nothing will ever be private again.

Not quite—Copilot doesn’t send everything to Redmond. Here’s how it works:

• Data Location: Your enterprise data (emails, files, chats, etc.) stays within your organisation’s Microsoft 365 tenant and its regional data centres. It isn’t shipped off to Redmond.
• Processing: Copilot uses the Microsoft Graph and the Azure OpenAI Service, which run in the same secure cloud environment as your Microsoft 365 data. The model processes prompt and retrieves context from your tenant without exposing raw data externally.
• Privacy & Compliance: Microsoft enforces strict compliance with GDPR and other regulations. Data is governed by your organisation’s policies, and Copilot adheres to the same security boundaries as other Microsoft 365 services.

 

[Ilyas Mohammed]

Like many I have used ChatGPT and Copilot and am using it more and more. I have the M365 licence which includes CoPilot "chat" which I use for one-off specific requests.

Has anyone used and have advice on the licenced version of Copilot?

As I understand it, under the licenced version, I can grant Copilot Access to my network. It won't share or release any of my data elsewhere, but it will mean that I can use Copilot in a much wider context as it will have access to all my files etc? In particular I am thinking of how it could help with budgeting, analysis data etc.

I would like to hear from users as to their experience, pro's and con's - is the licence worth it?

I’ve been using both ChatGPT and Copilot too, and the licensed version of Microsoft 365 Copilot is quite different from the standalone “chat” experience.

What changes with the licensed version?​

• Deep integration: Copilot works across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more. It can pull context from your organisation’s Microsoft 365 data (files, emails, calendars, chats) securely within your tenant.
• Data stays in your control: It doesn’t send your data outside your Microsoft 365 environment. Everything runs within Microsoft’s compliance and security boundaries.
• Broader use cases: You can do things like:
  • Generate reports and summaries from SharePoint/OneDrive files.
  • Analyse spreadsheets and create visualisations in Excel.
  • Draft emails or proposals using organisational context.
  • Prepare meeting notes and action items automatically.

Pros​

• Saves time on repetitive tasks.
• Improves productivity for document creation, analysis, and planning.
• Works seamlessly with existing Microsoft 365 apps.

Cons​

• Cost: It’s an add-on licence, so you’ll need to weigh ROI.
• Learning curve: To get the most out of it, you need to understand prompts and how to leverage organisational data.
• Governance: Your organisation should have clear policies on data access and permissions.

Is it worth it?​

If you regularly work with large volumes of documents, spreadsheets, or need quick insights from organisational data, it’s a strong investment. For budgeting and analysis, Copilot in Excel is particularly powerful—it can create pivot tables, charts, and even forecast trends based on your data.

 

[fisicx]

That was an AI answer @Ilyas Mohammed !

 

[Ilyas Mohammed]

That was an AI answer @Ilyas Mohammed !

And Point Being

 

[fisicx]

And Point Being

We don’t know if it’s your opinion or the one copilot wrote for you. If the second it could be totally wrong - another hallucination.