Microsoft Copilot is an AI chatbot that allows you to ask questions and get detailed responses with footnotes that link back to original sources. Because it is connected to Microsoft’s search engine, it has the ability to provide users with up-to-date information and real links, which may make it a better research and teaching tool than ChatGPT.
In addition to its utility as a research tool, Copilot has a generative function. You can leverage this mode to perform writing tasks and generate code, as well as solve math problems, and other basic tasks.
The version of Copilot accessible to you as a uOttawa employee or student offers enhanced privacy and data protection compared to the public version. Our enterprise version also conforms to the University’s usual privacy and data standards.
To access Microsoft Copilot, navigate to copilot.microsoft.comand follow the prompts to log in with your uOttawa credentials (uoAccess).
Once logged-in, look for the “protected” icon and chat confirmation. If you are not logged in, your interactions with Copilot will not be in the protected environment.
Microsoft Copilot is based on the latest OpenAI models, including GPT-4 and DALL-E 3, offering text and image generation capabilities in one unified experience.
Why use Copilot as your AI tool at work?
Uses web search and will provide links to the sources of information it quotes/finds.
Your chat data is not saved and not used to train models. The data is not available to Microsoft.
Copilot cannot access your other Microsoft 365 data. It does not work on Outlook email, Teams messages, SharePoint files, etc.
In addition to text generation, there is an integrated image generator (based on DALL-E 3).
A quick guide to Copilot
Remember, the answers given by a generative AI tool may not always be correct. These are otherwise known as "hallucinations." It will be up to you to determine if the results are acceptable for your needs. Results should never be considered as the authoritative source on a topic or issue.