Free M365 Copilot vs Chat vs Studio vs GitHub Copilot
Microsoft calls four very different products 'Copilot'. This map disambiguates them — who they're for, what they cost, what data they see. Free mind map.
There are four 'Copilots' and they are not interchangeable. Pick the right one in 30 seconds.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the actual difference between M365 Copilot and Copilot Chat?
Copilot Chat is free, web-grounded only, and lives at copilot.microsoft.com — it doesn't see your work files, emails, or chats unless you paste them in. Microsoft 365 Copilot is the $30/user/month paid licence that's embedded in Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, etc. and is grounded in your Microsoft Graph (files, emails, chats, calendar). M365 Copilot includes Copilot Chat plus everything else.
When should I use Copilot Studio instead of M365 Copilot?
Use M365 Copilot to build lightweight Q&A agents grounded in your organisational content — quick to author, no code, lives in the M365 Copilot app. Use Copilot Studio when you need multi-step workflows, branching logic, external system integration (CRMs, ticketing, APIs), governance with dev/test/prod environments, or to publish agents to channels beyond M365 (web, Teams, custom apps).
Is GitHub Copilot the same as M365 Copilot?
No, completely separate products. GitHub Copilot is a coding assistant in IDEs (VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, CLI). M365 Copilot is for documents, emails, meetings, and chat. They have different licences, billing, and data scopes. The only overlap is the brand.
Do I need both M365 Copilot and Copilot Studio?
Depends on your role. Most users only need M365 Copilot. Copilot Studio is for makers/developers who build agents for the org. Many organisations buy M365 Copilot for everyone and license Copilot Studio just for the few people building enterprise agents.