Microsoft Copilot at UW-Stout
Artificial intelligence tools are becoming part of everyday work and learning at UW‑Stout, and Microsoft Copilot is available to campus community. Many students, faculty, and staff are already using Copilot to ask questions, brainstorm, summarize information, draft content, and explore ideas.
Microsoft uses the name Copilot for more than one AI experience. At UW‑Stout, there are two primary Copilot options, each designed for different needs. With your UW-Stout login, you have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, which is included with your Microsoft 365 license at no additional cost. This is different from the premium paid version called Microsoft 365 Copilot ($18/user/month).
What Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat Can Do:
- Enterprise data protection: Your conversations are secure and not used to train AI models. Prompts and responses are protected by the same contractual terms and commitments Microsoft promises to emails in Outlook and files in Teams/SharePoint.
- Web-based research: Get answers using current information from the internet
- Content assistance: Help with documents you’re currently working on (you’ll need to copy/paste content or work within an open file)
- Access to advanced AI models: Powered by OpenAI’s latest language and image-generating technology
What a Paid License will Provide
- Can automatically search your emails, OneDrive files, or SharePoint documents.
- Can access your Teams chat history, meetings or calendar.
- Can pull information from across your organization’s data without you providing it.
The Key Difference
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (free) knows what the internet knows. It’s excellent for general tasks, writing assistance, and web research.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (paid) knows what your organization knows. It can automatically search and incorporate your work emails, documents, and conversations into its responses.
Copilot Chat vs. Microsoft 365 Copilot: What’s the Difference?
|
Feature |
Microsoft Copilot Chat (Included with your license) |
Microsoft 365 Copilot ($216 annually per users) |
|---|---|---|
|
Availability at UW‑Stout |
Available to UW‑Stout users through our Microsoft environment |
Available to users via a licensed request process |
|
Data Access |
Web/internet information only |
Automatic access to your work emails, files, Teams and calendar |
|
App Integration |
Available in apps, works with currently open files |
Fully embedded. Can reference any file you have access to |
|
Best for |
General questions, idea generation, summaries, and help while you work |
In‑app assistance while working in Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, and more |
|
Typical use cases |
Asking questions, drafting content, summarizing pages, brainstorming |
Knowledge work requiring organizational context. Drafting emails and documents, summarizing meetings, creating presentations |
|
Email Assistance |
Can help draft emails you're writing |
Can summarize your email history and find specific messages |
|
Document Search |
Cannot search your stored files |
Can find and reference documents across OneDrive/SharePoint |
|
Teams Integration |
Cannot access chat history |
Can summarize meetings and conversations |
|
Licensing |
Included with our enterprise Microsoft environment |
Requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license ($18/user/month) |
|
Compliance |
FERPA/HIPAA compliant infrastructure |
FERPA/HIPAA compliant infrastructure |
How is Copilot secure at UW-Stout?
Security and data protection have been central to UW‑Stout’s approach to adopting Microsoft Copilot. Copilot at UW‑Stout operates within our Microsoft enterprise environment, meaning it follows the same security, privacy, and access controls that already protect our Microsoft 365 data.
As part of campus readiness efforts, LIT has:
- Conducted risk and data privacy assessments focused specifically on Copilot
- Worked with Microsoft and security partners to remediate identified risks
- Identified and reduced instances of oversharing sensitive or confidential files
- Implemented recommended Microsoft 365 tenant changes to better protect institutional data before expanding Copilot use
Your data stays within UW‑Stout’s Microsoft environment. Copilot respects:
- existing file permissions — users can only see and use content they already have access to
- Institutional data protections already in place within Microsoft 365
- Enterprise compliance requirements, including FERPA considerations, when used within approved Copilot experiences
Requesting Microsoft 365 Copilot Paid License
If you feel that your role would benefit from the additional Copilot M365 AI features that can automatically access and search your organizational data (emails, stored documents, Teams conversations), visit our Copilot service to request Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing.
Cost of License: The cost of Copilot is $18 per user / month and is billed annually in September, and LIT will work with your business manager to bill your department. (A prorated rate may be billed depending on when a request is made.)