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Key Takeaways
- Copilot Pro offers GPT-4 priority access and integration with Microsoft 365 apps for $20/month.
- Copilot Pro also gives you access to DALL-E 3 and 100 boosts a day for image generation.
- You can utilize Copilot in Microsoft 365 to write content in Word, generate formulas in Excel, draft emails in Outlook, and plan presentations in PowerPoint.
Copilot Pro comes with extra features that make you more creative and productive. Let’s dive into what it is and how to use it to create images and do more in Microsoft 365 apps. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Copilot Pro?
Copilot Pro is the premium version of Copilot with enhanced performance and more features. The subscription costs $20 per month, and you can subscribe from the Microsoft website.
In terms of enhanced performance, you get priority access to GPT-4, an advanced version of GPT-3, during peak times. Peak times are when people use Copilot the most, leading to reduced performance and access for regular users.
The same goes for GPT-4 Turbo, which is faster and more advanced than GPT-4. To access it, you need to change Copilot’s conversation style to “Creative” or “Precise” before typing in your prompts.
A notable added feature of Copilot Pro is integration with Microsoft 365 apps. You can use Copilot directly within apps like Office and Excel to be more productive.
When it comes to creativity, you have advanced image-creation tools like DALL-E 3 and 100 boosts per day. The former improves Copilot’s ability to understand content and context, leading to more impressive results. The latter are credits you spend on increasing the speed at which Copilot generates the images (free users get 15 per day).
You can also train your own GPT in Copilot Pro. That means you can create a GPT tailored to your needs by giving it a name, description, and set of instructions.
How to Use Copilot Pro to Generate AI Images
Generating an image using Copilot Pro is easy. Just open the Copilot website in your browser, and then describe the image you want it to create. For example, we asked it to create a cool scene where The Avengers and Men in Black fend off an alien invasion.
Since this is AI, the results will have some obvious issues that humans can easily avoid (Tony Stark being an MIB agent), which is why AI can’t replace human creativity.
How to Use Copilot Pro in Microsoft 365 Apps
To use Copilot Pro in Microsoft 365 apps, you’ll also need a Microsoft 365 subscription, which costs $6.99 per month. Also, make sure you’re using the latest version of the 365 apps. Afterward, you’re good to go.
How to Add Copilot to 365 Apps
When you open a Microsoft 365 app like Word or Excel, you should be able to see the “Copilot” button on the ribbon of the “Home” tab (except for Outlook).
If it’s grayed out, ensure the “AutoSave” toggle in the top-left corner is turned on. Copilot Pro requires that this feature be enabled.
If the Copilot button is still grayed out, updating the license can fix the issue. To do that, click “File” on the left side of the top menu.
Then, click “Account” in the bottom left corner.
Afterward, click “Update License” below Product Information in the right panel.
Click “Sign In” and follow the instructions to sign into your Microsoft account. Make sure it’s the one with the Microsoft 365 and Copilot Pro subscriptions.
You should now be able to see the “Copilot” button in the ribbon of the Home tab. Clicking it, will open a panel on the right where you can prompt Copilot.
Keep in mind that any AI-generated content might be incorrect, so always make sure to double-check it. If you want to find out which prompts you can use, click the “View Prompts” button—the book icon—at the bottom of the Copilot panel.
You’ll see that Copilot can help you with a lot of tasks. This includes summarizing the document, checking for specific information (i.e., deadlines and key points), or expanding certain sections.
Writing Documents in Word
In Word, Copilot can help you draft and rewrite content. To draft something with Copilot, select a new line and then click the Copilot icon on the left or press Alt+i.
In the prompt, type what you want Copilot to draft, and click “Generate” or press Enter.
After it generates the output, you can further tweak it from within the prompt by asking Copilot to, for instance, “make it longer” or “make it formal.” Then, click the right arrow button to regenerate Copilot’s response based on the tweaks you want.
Make sure to click “Keep It” —the blue button—if you like the output.
You can also rewrite text by highlighting it, clicking the Copilot icon on the left, and choosing “Rewrite with Copilot” in the menu.
Generate Formulas and Analyze Data in Excel
You can use Copilot to be productive in Excel by generating formulas. In our sample sheet, we have a Budget and Revenue column for each campaign. We can then prompt Copilot for the profit using these columns.
Copilot will create a new column based on your prompt. To see a preview of the output, hover your mouse pointer over the “Insert Column” button. If it’s accurate, click the button to add it to the sheet.
You can also analyze data in your sheet by typing something like: What is the average revenue of each campaign type as a pie chart? You can even insert the resulting chart into the document by clicking the “Insert to a New Sheet” button.
These are just a few examples of how to generate formulas and analyze data. You can even do some basic editing with Copilot, such as highlighting cells and sorting or filtering items within the sheet.
Creating Presentations in PowerPoint
Copilot is one of the tools that can help you plan a presentation. Click the “Copilot” button in the ribbon of the Home tab. Then, describe the presentation you want it to create. In our example, we typed: Create a presentation about procrastination, including what it is, what causes it, and how to overcome it.
Copilot will create the presentation, complete with content, images, and notes.
You can also prompt Copilot to add more slides by typing something like include a slide about [topic]. You can also add an image by typing something such as add an image about [topic].
Drafting Emails in Outlook
You need to use the new Outlook or the web version instead of the classic Outlook if you want to be able to use Copilot. The “Copilot” button only shows up when you’re drafting or responding to an email. Once you click the “Copilot” button in the ribbon of the Message tab, select “Draft with Copilot” in the menu.
Tell Copilot what you want to draft and then click “Generate” in the bottom right of the prompt.
Then, you can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the response. Alternatively, you can prompt Copilot further by clicking the text box that says “Anything You’d Like to Change?”
From there, you can, for instance, ask Copilot to “make it longer” or “make it sound more direct,” based on your needs.
Copilot Pro has even more advanced features that you can dig into, too. This includes things like enhanced code generation, collaboration tools, and the ability to create your own GPTs.
However, you should be able to use it now to be creative when creating images and being productive in Microsoft 365 apps. Keep in mind that Copilot cannot do everything a human does. In some cases, it might be faster and more accurate to do certain things manually.
