What Is It?

Microsoft 365 Copilot is a premium AI add-on license that embeds AI directly into the Microsoft 365 apps UNT System employees use every day.

Unlike Copilot Chat, M365 Copilot connects to your actual Microsoft 365 data — your emails, meetings, documents, chats, and calendar — to provide deeply personalized, context-aware AI assistance.

Out of the box, it's the most integrated AI productivity tool available through UNT System. And, it gives you the option to use OpenAI and Anthropic models that best suit your needs.

Who Is It For?

  • Faculty and staff who are heavy Microsoft 365 users
  • Anyone who regularly works in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, or PowerPoint
  • Staff who want AI that understands their work context, not just the web
  • Roles where document drafting, meeting management, or data analysis is frequent

What Can You Do With It?

  • Word: Draft documents from prompts, rewrite for tone or clarity, summarize long reports
  • Excel: Analyze data, build formulas, create charts and visualizations
  • Outlook: Draft email replies, summarize long threads, schedule meetings
  • Teams: Get meeting recaps, action items, and summaries after calls
  • PowerPoint: Generate presentations from a prompt or document
  • OneNote: Summarize notes and surface key insights
  • General: Search across your M365 content with AI-powered semantic search

How to access M365 Copilot?

M365 Copilot is a paid add-on license. You need an assigned license before you can use it.

Step 1 — Request a license (if you don't already have one):

Use the Request M365 Copilot button on this page to submit a request. Your supervisor's approval and department funding are typically required since M365 Copilot is a $20/user/month add-on. You'll be notified by email once the license is assigned to your account.

Step 2 — Sign in once your license is active:

You can use M365 Copilot in multiple places. All paths require you to be signed in with your UNT System work account.

A. From inside Microsoft 365 apps (recommended):

  1. Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, or Teams (desktop or web) signed in with your UNT System account.
  2. Look for the Copilot icon — on the ribbon in Word/Excel/PowerPoint, as a floating Copilot button in the bottom right of your document, the top toolbar in Outlook, or the left rail in Teams.
  3. Click it to open the Copilot pane and start prompting.

B. From the M365 Copilot web chat:

  1. Go to m365.cloud.microsoft/chat.
  2. Sign in with your UNT System account.
  3. Toggle the "Work" switch on (near the top of the chat window) to ground answers in your UNT System emails, files, Teams chats, and calendar. (In "Web" mode it behaves like Copilot Chat without your data.)

How to confirm your license is active: In Work mode, ask "Summarize my emails from this week." If you get a real summary referencing your messages, you're licensed. If you get a message that says you need a Copilot license, the request hasn't been provisioned yet.

Reminder — what NOT to enter: M365 Copilot respects your existing M365 permissions, but you should still avoid pasting HIPAA-covered data, SSNs, or other regulated data into prompts. See Regulations, Policies, and Standards(opens in new window).

Feature Detail
Cost $20/user/month (add-on license)
Enterprise Data Protection checkmark / yes
Access to your M365 data checkmark / yes
Deep app integration checkmark / yes
Meeting recaps ∓ notes checkmark / yes
AI-powered search checkmark / yes

Data and Security

M365 Copilot only accesses data you already have permission to see — it respects your existing Microsoft 365 security and permissions. Your data stays within UNT System's Microsoft environment and is never used to train AI models.

You may use proprietary institutional documents, but should avoid entering sensitive, regulated, or restricted data (e.g., HIPAA-covered, SSNs)

Use This Tool When...

  • You need AI working directly inside Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, or PowerPoint
  • You want AI that understands your emails, meetings, and documents
  • You need meeting recaps or action items from Teams calls
  • Your work involves heavy document creation, analysis, or communication