Copilot

Windows 11 includes a conversational AI-powered assistant called Copilot that brings the ever-improving productivity and creation capabilities of the cloud-based Microsoft Copilot to your PC.

Note: Copilot is the most complex app in Windows 11 and the most difficult to document because it changes and improves continuously, and often in lockstep with other AI assistants. Indeed, Copilot is a worthy topic for a standalone book, or it would be if it weren't for how frequently it changes. As such, this chapter serves as a general overview of the app and its capabilities. But if you're familiar with any other AI assistant, Copilot works similarly.
Defaults
Copilot uses cloud-based AI to interact with you, so your PC must be online to use this app. But depending on your PC, you will see one of the following two Copilot apps preinstalled with Windows 11:

Microsoft Copilot. This is the version aimed at individuals using their own personal computer. It's the version you will see on a Windows 11 PC for consumers.
Microsoft 365 Copilot. This is the version for businesses and it's preinstalled on a Windows 11 PC when the the PC maker bundles the commercial versions of the Microsoft 365 Desktop apps with their hardware.

This book focuses on individuals, not business users, so this chapter covers Microsoft Copilot, not Microsoft 365 Copilot. The latter includes most of the same features as the consumer Copilot, but it also includes advanced productivity functionality that integrates with Desktop apps like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Tip: Anyone can download the Microsoft Copilot app or Microsoft 365 Copilot app from the Microsoft Store at any time if needed.
Free vs. subscription
The functionality you receive from Copilot can vary because some features are available to everyone for free while some features--or more liberal usage limits--are only provided to those who have an eligible consumer Microsoft 365 subscription. That's bad enough, but Microsoft confuses matters even further by imposing other restrictions:

You must sign in with a Microsoft account to access most Copilot features. If you sign in to Windows 11 with a local account and don't sign in to a Microsoft account with Copilot, you are restricted to using basic chat features and the Discover feed, which includes a Copilot Daily voice-based news of the day overview.
You must have a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription to access exclusive Copilot functionality. A Microsoft 365 Basic subscription is ineligible.
You must be the subscription owner to access exclusive Copilot functionality. Microsoft 365 Family and Premium both support multiple users, but only the first user--the subscription owner--gets access to the exclusive Copilot functionality. (If you have a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, you are automatically the subscription owner.)

Learn more: You can learn more about the Microsoft 365 subscriptions for consumers on the...