- * About : Microsoft 365 Copilot

Service overview

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-first productivity app that brings together your files, chats, apps (like Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and conversations in one place. It includes an AI assistant (Copilot Chat) that helps with drafting, summarizing, analyzing, and exploring ideas. You can quickly find documents, create content using templates, and access your Microsoft 365 tools—all with built-in security, privacy, and data access controls.

Who can use it

This service is available to active McGill faculty and staff with eligible licenses.

Note: Copilot for Microsoft 365 is not available for student accounts, even if they are licensed under A3 or A5.

How to request access to the service

Request access to the service

There are different versions of Copilot. McGill has a license for the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version that protects our data and conforms to the University's privacy and data protection standards. It is crucial to use the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version for McGill-related tasks. A public version is available, but it does not conform to the University's privacy and data protection standards and should not be used for McGill-related purposes.

There are many ways to access the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Copilot:

In the Microsoft Edge browser
In other supported browsers
In Microsoft Teams
In Microsoft Outlook

Accessing Microsoft 365 Copilot in Microsoft Edge

IMPORTANT NOTE:

McGill users must use the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for McGill-related purposes. The public version of the tool does not conform to the University's privacy and data protection standards.

Follow these instructions to access the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version in Microsoft Edge:

Open Microsoft Edge.
Click the Copilot logo at the very top right-hand side of the Microsoft Edge screen:
You will either:
1. Automatically be signed in with your McGill account. If you are signed in with a personal account, sign out and sign back in using your McGill credentials.
2. Need to sign in and enter your McGill credentials (first.lastname@mcgill.ca or first.lastname@mail.mcgill.ca)
  
  When signed in with your McGill credentials, you will be brought into the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  In the top right-hand corner of the window, look for either the shield or the green checkmark symbol that indicates you are logged in to the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Copilot.
You can now enter questions or prompts into the field at the bottom of the screen.

Accessing Copilot through other supported browsers

IMPORTANT NOTE:

McGill users must use the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Copilot for McGill-related purposes. The public version does not conform to the University's privacy and data protection standards.

To access the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version through other supported browsers:

Open your web browser (i.e., Chrome)
Go to https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat/
You will either be :
1. Automatically be signed in with your McGill account. If you are signed in with your personal account, sign out and sign in using your McGill credentials.
2. Need to sign in with your McGill credentials. (first.lastname@mcgill.ca or first.lastname@mail.mcgill.ca)

When signed in with your McGill credentials, this will bring you into the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Copilot.

In the top right-hand corner of the Copilot window, look for either the shield or the green checkmark symbol that indicates you are logged into the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Copilot.

Note: If you do not see the shield or green checkmark, try clearing your cache, refreshing your browser, or signing out and back in with your McGill credentials (first.lastname@mcgill.ca).

Copilot is available on the left navigation bar. You can now enter questions or prompts into the field at the bottom of the screen.

Cost

Copilot Chat is free to the McGill community, but there is an additional cost to subscribe to Microsoft 365 Copilot (for faculty and staff only).

To subscribe to Microsoft 365 Copilot, fill out the request form.

Availability

NOTES

Copilot's availability and functionality may vary based on your device type, your geographical location, and browser version. If you are experiencing issues, verify that your browser is up to date. For instructions on updating Microsoft Edge, see the Microsoft article about Microsoft Edge update settings.

The service is available 24 X 7.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot ?
Copilot is an AI tool that allows you to use natural language to ask complex questions, get summarized information, generate content, and more.

Is Copilot compliant with McGill University's privacy and data standards?
The University's IT Architecture team evaluated the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat; if users are signed-in with their McGill credentials, this version of the tool is safe for use. However, even though users are signed in with their McGill credentials, it is always wise to be careful with the use of sensitive or restricted material with any tool. For use cases that involve sensitive or restricted data, please log an IT Service Desk ticket. As different use cases are gathered, we will engage in additional assessments to determine the suitability of the tool, considering the use case, the sensitivity level of data, and the quantity of data.

Personal Health Information (PHI) or Payment Card Industry (PCI) information remain forbidden within Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. The public version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat does not conform to the University's privacy and data protection standards and should not be used for McGill-related purposes.

Look for the icon in the top right-hand corner of the window, either the shield or the green checkmark symbol. They indicate that you are logged in to the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.

Why do I get an authentication error when logging in the first time?

You must allow pop-up windows so the authentication window can be displayed. You will enter and submit your McGill credentials through that window.

Is Copilot available on mobile?
Yes. The tool is available on mobile devices via the Microsoft 365 app. You must use your McGill credentials to sign into the app to access the Enterprise Data Protection (secure) version. The public version does not conform to the University's privacy and data protection standards and should not be used for McGill-related purposes. To download Microsoft 365 on your mobile device, follow the instructions here: Download the Microsoft 365 Mobile App | Microsoft 365.

What can Copilot do?

By engaging with an AI chatbot using short "prompts," it can:

Answer questions
Compare products and create comparison tables
Compose text
Solve a variety of problems (e.g., debug code)
Organize your browser tabs (only available in Microsoft Edge)
Summarize documents (e.g., PDFs, text documents) and website content
Generate an image from natural language prompts (powered by DALL-E)

To see the full list of features, tips, and tricks, visit the Microsoft Copilot features and tips page.

What are the differences between Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Aspect	Copilot Chat (Free)	Microsoft 365 Copilot (Paid)
Availability	Available to active McGill students, faculty, and staff.	Subscription available for purchase for McGill faculty and staff.
Chat	Available	Available
Web-grounded (public data)	Available	Available
Work-grounded (McGill data)	Not Available	Available
File Upload	Available (lower file size and daily limits)	Available
Image generation	Available (lower daily limits)	Available
Copilot Pages	Available	Available
Copilot Notebooks	Not available	Available
Personal assistant in M365 apps	Not available	Available (Teams, Outlook Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Use cases for the additional features from the paid license:

Copilot in Teams automatically generates a summary with decisions and action items.
Copilot in Excel can quickly analyze the dataset, spot trends, and even create pivot tables and visualizations.
Copilot in Word can be used to draft documents using internal data stored in SharePoint.
Copilot can summarize entire email threads, surface urgent items, and draft responses based on internal data (calendar invites, Teams messages, previous email context).
Use Copilot Notebook as a workspace for a project where you include all relevant documents, reports, datasets, codes, emails, etc. and ask Copilot to summarize reports and highlight challenges, draft strategic priorities and more.

How do I completely remove Copilot from Microsoft Edge?
Follow these steps:

Open Microsoft Edge.
Click the ellipsis (...) in the upper right-hand corner and select Settings.
Go to Appearance > Copilot and sidebar
Click on Copilot under App specific settings
Enable or disable the options that you need:

Best practices & policies

When possible, mitigate potential privacy concerns by removing personally identifying information (e.g., names, email addresses, phone numbers. For example, when writing a prompt to draft an email to Joe Smith, replace "Joe Smith" with "XYZ."

As with any AI technology, Copilot may produce results that are imperfect or inaccurate. It is the user's responsibility to diligently review the responses and generated content to confirm accuracy.

Users should employ their own or publicly available content and avoid situations where the copyright holder has not given permission. Read more about copyright at McGill. For content displayed on McGill's public websites, including content created with generative AI, refer to the Digital Standards Guide and McGill's Web Governance Framework.

It is always wise to be careful with the use of sensitive or restricted material with any tool. For use cases that involve sensitive or restricted data, please log an IT Service Desk service request. As use cases are gathered, we will engage in additional assessments to determine the suitability of Copilot, considering the use case, the sensitivity level of data, and the quantity of data.

Personal Health Information (PHI) and Payment Card Industry (PCI) data remain forbidden for use within Copilot.

Training & documentation

Learn how to use the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat productively and responsibly with IT Services’ self-paced introductory online module. Log into myCourses to start the module.

Microsoft also provides resources for using Copilot:

Support

For access/authentication issues and basic assistance using Microsoft Copilot within Edge, contact the IT Service Desk.
For questions related to content displayed on McGill's public websites, including content created with generative AI and your responsibilities, visit the Digital Standards Guide and McGill's Web Governance Framework.
For more information about using AI for teaching, read the set of approved recommendations from the Senate Sub-committee on generative AI for teaching and learning at McGill and consult the Teaching and Learning Knowledge Base article on using generative AI in teaching and learning.