Worth Reading – Why Copilot works differently now (and why that’s a good thing)
I questioned why Microsoft was removing features from the free version of Enterprise Copilot, figuring it was a matter of competing against itself and part of lagging sales of Copilot for M365 licenses, but maybe it makes more sense to think of it this way:
What changed (and why)
Microsoft has now drawn a clear line between:
Copilot Chat (Basic)
- General AI chat
- Limited guarantees
- Not deeply integrated with your business data
- Useful for exploration and light assistance
- Fully integrated into Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, etc.
- Grounded in your organisation’s data (emails, files, meetings)
- Governed by your security, compliance, and access controls
- Licensed per user, with predictable behaviour
This separation wasn’t about removing features—it was about making responsibilities clear.
https://blog.ciaops.com/2026/04/28/why-copilot-works-differently-now-and-why-thats-a-good-thing/
I do appreciate that the water between the two tools is less muddy. It’s still not clear. There is still confusion among the average users, but it’s a little less murky. That’s a good thing.
Of course, the fact that this also makes it clearer where you would need to pay for a license probably isn’t making the salespeople sad, so it’s not all that different than my explanation.
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