Copilot Chat: Web, Mobile & Work Experiences
Understand the two modes of Microsoft Copilot Chat — web-grounded and work-grounded — and how the mobile app provides access to both.
Two modes, one assistant
Copilot Chat is like having two assistants in one — one knows the internet, the other knows your company.
Web mode searches the internet to answer questions. It’s great for general research — “What are the latest trends in manufacturing AI?” It knows nothing about your company’s files or emails.
Work mode searches YOUR organisation’s data — emails, files, calendar, Teams chats. “What did Sarah say about the Q3 budget?” Only Work mode can answer that. Both modes are available in the browser and on mobile.
Web mode capabilities
Web mode turns Copilot into a general-purpose AI assistant powered by internet knowledge.
| Capability | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Web search and chat | Answers questions using internet data | ”What are Microsoft’s latest AI announcements?” |
| File upload and analysis | Analyses uploaded documents, images, or data | Upload a PDF and ask “Summarise the key findings” |
| Image generation | Creates images from text descriptions | ”Create a professional header image for a blog about AI” |
| Code assistance | Writes, explains, and debugs code | ”Write a Python script that converts CSV to JSON” |
| Summarisation | Condenses web pages or uploaded content | ”Summarise this 20-page whitepaper I uploaded” |
| Creative writing | Drafts content, brainstorms ideas | ”Write 5 tagline options for our new AI product” |
What web mode CANNOT do:
- Access your emails, calendar, or Teams messages
- Search your organisation’s SharePoint or OneDrive files
- See anything behind your company’s firewall
- Know who your colleagues are or what they’ve shared
Work mode capabilities
Work mode connects Copilot to your organisation’s Microsoft 365 data through Microsoft Graph.
| Capability | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Email search | Finds and summarises emails | ”What emails did I get from the legal team this week?” |
| File discovery | Locates files across OneDrive and SharePoint | ”Find the latest version of the Q3 budget spreadsheet” |
| Calendar awareness | Understands your schedule and meetings | ”What meetings do I have tomorrow about the product launch?” |
| Teams chat search | Searches Teams conversations | ”What did the engineering team discuss about the API migration?” |
| People insights | Finds information about colleagues | ”Who in my organisation works on data governance?” |
| Cross-source synthesis | Combines information from multiple M365 sources | ”Summarise everything related to Project Aurora across my emails, files, and Teams chats” |
What work mode CANNOT do:
- Access the public internet (it only searches organisational data)
- Access data the user doesn’t have permission to see
- Modify files, send emails, or take actions (read-only)
- Access third-party apps unless connected via Graph connectors
How permissions work in Work mode
Work mode respects existing Microsoft 365 permissions. This is a critical security design:
- If a user can’t access a SharePoint site, Copilot can’t either
- If a document is restricted to a security group, only members see it in Copilot results
- Copilot never bypasses conditional access, sensitivity labels, or DLP policies
- This means Copilot surfaces existing oversharing problems — if too many people have access to sensitive folders, Copilot will surface that content more broadly
For the exam: understand that Copilot inherits the user’s permissions, it doesn’t create new ones.
The mobile experience
The Copilot mobile app (iOS and Android) brings both web and work modes to your phone.
| Mobile Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| Voice input | Speak your prompts instead of typing — useful on the go |
| Camera integration | Take photos and ask Copilot to analyse them — scan documents, whiteboards, business cards |
| Web and work modes | Same toggle as the desktop/browser experience |
| Image generation | Create images from text prompts |
| Conversation history | Access past conversations across devices |
| Push notifications | Get notified about important AI-generated insights |
Mobile-specific strengths:
- Before a meeting: “Summarise the last 3 emails from this client” (work mode) while walking to the meeting room
- At a conference: “What are the key takeaways from this speaker’s latest blog post?” (web mode)
- On-site visit: Take a photo of a whiteboard and ask “Convert this to a structured action list”
👔 Elena’s team uses Copilot Chat on the go
Elena, CEO of Meridian Consulting, wants her 200 consultants to be productive between client meetings. Here’s how her team uses Copilot Chat:
Morning prep (work mode on mobile): Consultant Maya is heading to a client meeting at 9am. On the bus, she opens Copilot mobile and asks: “Summarise all emails and Teams messages about Contoso Ltd from the past week.” In 30 seconds, she has a full briefing without opening Outlook.
During client discussion (web mode): The client asks about a competitor’s AI strategy. Maya switches to web mode: “What AI initiatives has Acme Corp announced in the past 6 months?” She gets a sourced summary to share in real time.
After the meeting (mobile camera): Maya photographs the whiteboard of action items. She asks Copilot: “Convert this whiteboard into a structured list with owners and deadlines.” The AI reads the handwriting and creates a clean list she can paste into an email.
Exam tip: Know which mode for which scenario
The exam will present scenarios and ask which mode is appropriate. Quick rules:
- Questions about YOUR company’s data → Work mode (emails, files, Teams, calendar)
- Questions about the outside world → Web mode (internet, competitors, market research)
- Questions about uploaded documents → Web mode (file upload doesn’t require work mode)
- Questions combining company + public data → Start with Work mode, then switch to Web mode for external context
The exam tests whether you understand the data boundary between the two modes.
When to use each mode
| Scenario | Best Mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Research a competitor’s latest product launch | Web | Public information on the internet |
| Find last month’s board presentation | Work | Stored in SharePoint/OneDrive |
| Summarise a PDF a colleague just emailed you | Work | Email attachment in Microsoft Graph |
| Generate marketing taglines for a new product | Web | Creative task, no company data needed |
| Check what your team discussed about a project in Teams | Work | Teams messages are Graph data |
| Analyse a CSV file you downloaded from a vendor | Web | Upload the file to web mode for analysis |
| Prepare for a meeting by reviewing recent emails from the attendees | Work | Email content in Microsoft Graph |
Elena is preparing for a client meeting and needs to review all internal emails and Teams messages about the client from the past month. Which Copilot Chat mode should she use?
Dr. Patel is reviewing data access controls before a Copilot deployment. She tests a scenario: a user in Work mode asks Copilot about a confidential HR document stored in a restricted SharePoint folder. The user is not in the security group that has access. What happens?
Next up: Copilot in M365 Apps: Word, Excel, Teams and More — discover what Copilot can do inside each Microsoft 365 application.