Copilot is a tool that uses a powerful language model. It is integrated with Microsoft's Bing search and may be integrated with Microsoft's Edge browser. It is designed to generate new content, including text and graphics. Copilot can also analyse, improve and build on existing content based on your instructions.

Before you start using Copilot with AAU, remember to log in with your AAU-username. This will allow you to enter a secure environment with commercial data protection. This is indicated by a white seal (previously green), which you should make sure is present.

Commercial data protection means that you are in a closed prompt where the answers are not stored or used to train the model.

Commercial data protection does not mean that you can share anything with Copilot. For example, personal, confidential or sensitive information. You still need to comply with the AAU data classification, which you can read about on the Generative AI and Security page.

Also, commercial data protection does not mean that you are free to override copyright.

What is a session?

When you use Copilot with commercial data protection, no information is stored from session to session. This means that all prompts and responses will disappear and cannot be recreated when you close the browser tab or application, or when a timeout occurs. It is therefore important that you always copy Copilot's responses and document your use if necessary.

Three different ways to access Copilot

Copilot is not just a service you access through a website. Here you can see the different ways you can access and use the platform.

Copilot has a number of settings for how it handles your prompts.

In the mobile app, you can choose to use the more advanced GPT-4 language model or an older version.

On the Copilot website and in the Edge sidebar, you can also choose between different settings for the model. These are called conversation styles.

The "More Creative" conversation style appears to be identical to turning on GPT-4 in the app.

Differences between Copilot and ChatGPT

If you've tried sending the same prompt to both Copilot and ChatGPT, you may have noticed that they don't necessarily respond in exactly the same way.

Although the two platforms share the same technology, there are differences. They don't necessarily use the same version of the GPT model, as technological developments are not synchronised between the two platforms.

The GPT models are also not adapted in exactly the same way. For example, ChatGPT is probably more conversational, whereas Copilot is more task-oriented. You may find that Copilot can be more concise and formal in its responses. Of course, you can always ask Copilot to be more detailed and informal if you wish.

Copilot very often uses an internet search to enrich and clarify its answer (the method is called Retrieval-Augmented Generation - RAG). In contrast ChatGPT must be specifically asked to include an internet search. Without RAG, the model only answers based on what it has learned from its training material. With RAG, the benefits of general information retrieval are also included.

How you can work with files in Copilot

You can upload files to Copilot, such as a PDF file, an Excel spreadsheet or an image from your camera. You can then refer to this in your prompt. For example, analyse the document or describe the content of the image.

However, there are some restrictions on file size and file types. Currently, you can only upload files that are no larger than 1 MB and no more than 5 uploads per day. Microsoft keeps an up-to-date list of the types of files you can upload.

If you are working with, say, a large PDF, you can use the sidebar in the Edge browser. Open the file in the browser, turn on Copilot, and you can use Copilot to summarise the content and more.

Note that Copilot in the Edge browser has the ability to read the contents of the tab in which you open the sidebar. This means that you may inadvertently violate data classification if Copilot uses the content from the browser in your prompt.

Why choose Copilot over e.g. ChatGPT?

The right tool for the right job! It's hard to argue with that. Nor will we argue that Copilot is always the best choice. There may be many reasons to choose a different tool for a given task.

However, use the table below to consider whether there are some premises related to the task that make the choice lean towards Copilot, or whether another tool would be more appropriate given the nature of the task.