Microsoft has largely billed its AI chatbot, Copilot, as a free-to-use AI experience. You can download the app, call up the chatbot in Windows 11, or use Copilot's website to do all the things you expect to with AI. But if you want more features, there is a paid version of Microsoft's AI: Copilot Pro. The Pro version costs $20 per month, which is a lot of money compared to, well, $0. Here's what you get for that subscription.

How Copilot and Copilot Pro are the same

The free version of Copilot is surprisingly feature-filled for a service that offers a $20 per-month optional subscription. Whether you pay or not, Microsoft offers Copilot as a web app, mobile app, and as a service in Windows, Bing, and Microsoft Edge. (This singular browser of choice shouldn't be surprising, as this is Microsoft's product, after all.)

Perhaps Copilot free's most notable feature is GPT-4 Turbo access, OpenAI's second-latest model behind GPT-4o. So long as you hit Use GPT-4 before chatting with the bot, you can use OpenAI's newer AI model, rather than the older GPT-3.5. It's the same model you get with Copilot Pro, but there are some limitations here, which I'll explain later on.

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Copilot free and Pro also both support plugins. You can think of Copilot plugins as similar to browser extensions, as they let you add third-party functionality to the chatbot that otherwise wouldn't be there by default. For example, you can use the OpenTable plugin to ask Copilot about restaurants in your area, and receive links to book a reservation. Paying for Copilot won't necessarily enhance this experience, as there are no extra plugins hidden behind the paywall: There are eight options regardless of your plan.

You also get the same AI art generation tools: Both platforms come with DALL-E 3 access, so you can ask Copilot to make you an image whether you pay for it or not. You also can use Microsoft Designer for free, an AI art program that can generate art, social media templates, and messaging stickers, and offers some light AI photo editing as well.

What Copilot Pro gets you

One of Copilot Pro's biggest perks is priority access to GPT-4 Turbo. As I've already covered, all Copilot users have access to GPT-4 Turbo, but during "peak usage times," Microsoft will boot free users to a slower GPT model. Ironically, you may not feel your $20 impacting Copilot's speed, since the free version can use GPT-4 Turbo, too. But when demand is high, and free users are kicked down to GPT-3.5, your $20 keeps you locked into the higher-performing model.

Another roadblock Copilot free puts up are the limited credits for AI art generation: Microsoft gives you 15 for free, which effectively means you get 15 requests per day before you're locked out. If you pay for Pro, you get 100 credits per day, so you're able to request 85 more generations than free users. That's a lot of art (I personally can't imagine needing to generate 15 pieces a day, let alone 100), but if AI art generation is that important to you, you might find value here.

The key plus to Copilot Pro, in my opinion, is Microsoft 365 integration: If you pay for Pro, you can use Copilot in Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and OneNote. Copilot is available as both a chatbot, which lets you ask questions and make requests based on what's going on in the app, but it also has generative features of its own scattered through these programs. Here are some examples of ways you can use Copilot in these apps:

• Word: Generate first drafts, add onto or rewrite draft you've already written, and generate a summary of a document.

• Powerpoint: Create a presentation from a prompt, and summarize and restructure your slides.

• Excel: Analyze your spreadsheet's data, filter and sort your data, and generate formulas.

• OneNote: Summarize notes, create to-do lists, and plan events.

An important note: If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use Copilot in both the web and desktop versions of these apps. However, if you only pay for Copilot Pro, you'll only have access to the web apps.

Finally, Copilot Pro also opens the door to Copilot GPTs, which are custom-built versions of the chatbot designed to perform whatever task you want it to. You can build a GPT that focuses on teaching users about a specific topic, helps you plan and make meals, or generates logos for companies. If you have Pro, you can start building a GPT from Chats > Copilot GPTs > See all Copilot GPTs > Create a new Copilot GPT. Here, Copilot walks you through the creation process, asking questions about what you want this GPT to do, and advising you on the best way to set up your GPT so it performs as you want it to.

Should you pay for Copilot Pro?

As someone that doesn't use a ton of AI in my day-to-day life, I can't say I'd jump at adding another $20 to my monthly subscription bill. While the extra perks are cool, particularly Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps, as a chatbot, you get most of the features you'd expect from the free version of Copilot. If you're solely interested in casually engaging with AI and don't have a need for a robotic assist in apps like Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, Copilot free is more than enough.

That said, Microsoft is offering a one month free trial for Copilot Pro for new customers. As long as you set a reminder to cancel the trial, you can give Pro a shot and see if its extra features are worth it for your needs.

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