Forum Discussion
Request for Access to Copilot in Office Word and Excel 365
Good afternoon,
I am a person with complex and enduring mental disabilities. Despite the challenges I face daily, I strive to stay relevant in the academic and professional world. The news of Copilot’s development excited me greatly, as I believe it could be a game-changer in helping me maintain my academic and professional relevance.
The potential of Copilot to assist in tasks within Microsoft Word and Excel 365 is particularly appealing. These tools are integral to my research, and the added assistance from Copilot could significantly enhance my productivity and efficiency.
However, I have been unable to access Copilot in my current version of Office 365, despite following all the recommended steps. I understand that Copilot is currently being tested with a small group of customers, and I am writing to express my interest in being part of this testing phase.
Given my unique circumstances, I believe I could provide valuable feedback on the usability and impact of Copilot for individuals with mental disabilities. This could help shape Copilot into a more inclusive tool that caters to a wider range of users.
I kindly request that you consider granting me access to the testing phase of Copilot in Office Word and Excel 365. I am eager to explore the benefits of this innovative tool and contribute to its development.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Ghayur Ali Khan
1 Reply
If you want to use Microsoft 365 Copilot (Copilot features such as Word/Excel, etc.), there are currently several main ways to do so:
1. Business Users (Company/School Subscription)
For: Microsoft 365 Business Edition (e.g. E3/E5, Business Standard/Premium) users .
Confirm subscription: Your organization must be subscribed to the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on service (for an additional fee of about $30/user/month).
Contact your IT administrator: Have your administrator enable Copilot in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
Path: Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Purchased Services > Microsoft 365 Copilot
Waiting for Deployment: Once enabled, Copilot appears automatically in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and other applications. automatically.
Note: If your company has not purchased a Copilot license, individuals cannot apply individually.
2. Individual users (Home or Personal subscription)
The full version of Copilot (with deep Word/Excel integration) is currently only available to businesses and is not supported in personal editions (e.g. Microsoft 365 Home/Personal).
Alternatives:
Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Chat): free with copilot.microsoft.com (similar to ChatGPT, but not directly embedded in Office).
Windows Copilot (Win11): press Win + C to invoke AI Assistant (basic functionality).
Waiting for update: Microsoft may open it to individual users in the future, so we recommend following the Microsoft 365 blog.
3. Join the Microsoft 365 Insider Program (Beta)
If Microsoft launches a public test of Copilot in the future, you can sign up for the Insider Program in advance to get access to the experience:
Open the official Office Insider website
Sign in with your Microsoft account and choose to join the Beta Channel (the most frequent update).
Update Office to the latest beta and check if the Copilot feature is included.
4. Other alternatives
If you can't access the official Copilot, you can try:
Excel Labs (AI formula assistant): Installation address
WPS AI (Kingsoft Office's AI feature, similar to Copilot)
ChatGPT + Office plug-ins (e.g. OpenAI's Code Interpreter to process Excel data)
