As of February 2024, Microsoft Copilot is available to all UW–Madison students by logging in with their UW–Madison NetID at copilot.microsoft.com. Students can enjoy the same large language model (LLM) access and data protections that were previously only available to staff and faculty. Sensitive and restricted data should not be entered into Microsoft Copilot.
Copilot is Microsoft’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform. It uses multiple data models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and DALL-E 3, to generate written and visual content based on a prompt. Copilot can help you write text, analyze data, summarize documents, create images, write code, learn new skills and much more. Through an integration with Bing search, Copilot has access to current internet data, enabling it to provide up-to-date responses to requests.
Unlike open commercial tools, Copilot provides additional data protection when you access it using your NetID. Microsoft will not use your prompts or responses to train its AI models.
You are responsible for following UW–Madison and Universities of Wisconsin policies when using Copilot and other generative AI services.
Statement on use of generative AI
Generative AI @ UW–Madison: use & policies
Generative AI—Instructional Opportunities and Challenges
Getting started
- Visit copilot.microsoft.com
- Tap the “Sign in” button at the top of the page, then select the “Sign in with a work or school account” option
- Type your UW–Madison email address into the email box on the sign-in page
- Log in with your NetID on the next page
- After you’ve logged in, you’ll see the UW–Madison crest at the top of the page and a green badge above the text prompt area stating “Your personal and company data are protected in this chat”
Requirements
- UW—Madison NetID
Key features
- Commercial data protection for logged in UW–Madison users
- Generate responses using public web information and data
- Access OpenAI’s most powerful language and image generating models
Pricing
Free to all UW–Madison users
Available to
- Faculty
- Staff
- Researchers
- Students
Support
Microsoft Copilot is a new product offering which comes with unknowns and uncertainties. The Division of Information Technology Help Desk is prepared to assist those having challenges accessing Copilot, but is not able to consult on topics such as AI prompt engineering, access to specific LLMs, or other specific uses of Copilot.
Please review Microsoft’s documentation if you run into issues using Copilot.