While their names sound similar at first glance, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, they differ in several aspects. And more importantly: one is built on top of the other.

What is Copilot Chat (Basic)?

First things first. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is often simply called Copilot Chat.

Copilot Chat (Basic) generates answers based on web content, while Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) is also grounded on users' data, like emails, meetings, files, and more.

Since early 2025, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat has been available to all users in organizations, becoming the entry point to AI assistance for many organizations.

Copilot Chat (Basic) is the foundational Copilot experience available at no extra cost for everyone with an eligible Microsoft 365 plan, including:

• Microsoft 365 E3 / E5
• Microsoft 365 A3 / A5
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard & Business Premium

Copilot Chat (Basic) is secured, compliant, and it does not required the full Copilot add-on license.

Copilot Chat (Basic) is able to ground responses on:

• Public web content.
• Content explicitly shared or work data manually uploaded to the chat by the user.
• On-screen content or content displayed on-screen in apps like Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

When it comes to agents, Copilot Chat (Basic) offers these features:

• You can create your own declarative agents grounded on public web content with Agent Builder.
• You can use agents built by your org grounded on organizational data with the pay-as-you-go method.
• There are Microsoft prebuilt agents available like Prompt Coach, however Microsoft premium prebuilt agents like Researcher or Analyst are not included.

The screenshot below shows how Copilot Chat looks and highlights its main capabilities.

Image showing the Copilot Chat (Basic) user interface.

Note the Upgrade button, meaning this is not Microsoft 365 Copilot, but the Copilot Chat (Basic) experience.

Note that EDP (Enterprise Data Protection) is available in Copilot Chat (Basic).

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium)?

Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) is a paid add-on license that builds on top of Copilot Chat and unlocks Copilot's full power.

It is available for selected Microsoft 365 plans, including:

• Microsoft 365 E3 / E5
• Microsoft 365 A3 / A5
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard & Business Premium

With a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, users get everything Copilot Chat (Basic) offers, plus much more:

• Data grounding: Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) includes Copilot Chat grounded on web and/or on user's Microsoft 365 data like emails, meetings, chats, and documents.
• Office apps: It integrates deeply into Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and more. The integration includes features like Edit with Copilot allowing Copilot to adjust live your documents or email based on your prompts.
• Custom agents: It brings the capability to create your own declarative agents grounded in organizational data and/or web data. You can create agent either using Agent Builder or Copilot Studio.
• MS prebuilt agents: Premium prebuilt agents like Researcher and Analyst are included in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium).

The screenshot below shows the Copilot chat experience for users who have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Image showing the M365 Copilot Chat (Premium) user interface.

Note that EDP or Enterprise Data Protection also applies here

How can I access Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?

Today, Copilot Chat is accessible via https://m365.cloud.microsoft or https://copilot.cloud.microsoft using your Entra ID (work or school account).

One important difference in day-to-day experience:

• Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license typically see Copilot prominently surfaced across Microsoft 365 apps.
• Users with Copilot Chat only may not see it pinned by default on the Microsoft 365 home page.

To improve discoverability, Microsoft 365 Copilot administrators can pin Copilot Chat via the Microsoft 365 admin center, ensuring that users can easily access it without friction.

Especially convenient is that if you use the M365 Copilot Chat app on Windows, you can open Copilot using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C.

What’s the difference?

The differences between Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot mainly come down to:

• Licensing
• Data grounding (web-only vs. personal work data)
• Integration depth within Microsoft 365 apps

I’ve listed the key differences in the comparison below. 👇

Image showing a 3-column table: Aspects in the middle, Copilot Chat to the left, M365 Copilot to the right.