Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) is pleased to announce the launch of a pilot program for a new tool called Microsoft 365 Copilot. This new service offers the ability to use AI to securely work with your Chapman data in your existing Microsoft products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams) using OpenAI GPT technology. You can read the official announcement about Microsoft 365 Copilot.

With Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can:

  • Generate high-quality content for various purposes, such as email responses, reports, summaries, or presentations.
  • Find relevant information and insights across multiple Chapman data sources, such as OneDrive, Email, SharePoint, and Teams.
  • Get suggestions and feedback on your writing style, tone, grammar, and clarity.

The purpose of the pilot is to help determine the value of this service to the campus community. The pilot program is available to full-time faculty, staff, and administrators.   

Please note the following additional details: 

  • The licenses are expected to be available in May 2024 for a period of 1 year, after which a decision around extension will be made and communicated.
  • License quantities are limited and are first-come, first-serve based on signups.
  • Each person must individually submit a request for a license.
  • All participants will be added to a Microsoft Teams channel to share feedback and ideas. Microsoft Teams is optional but recommended as a convenient way to utilize M365 Copilot.
  • Participants will receive short periodic surveys from IS&T on your experiences.
  • IS&T will periodically evaluate users for non-activity, and you may be asked to surrender your license if no utilization is detected over a 30-day period.  

You may submit your request to receive a Microsoft 365 Copilot license!

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot for Web?
    • IS&T previously announced the availability of Copilot for Web (formerly Bing Chat Enterprise) as an enterprise equivalent of ChatGPT for faculty, staff, and students. This remains available for all users. The new Microsoft 365 Copilot works and searches your individual files and is embedded into the Office products that many of us utilize on a daily basis.
  • What is the cost of Microsoft 365 Copilot?
    • The cost is currently $360 per year per person and will be paid by IS&T during the pilot program. Long-term funding for Microsoft 365 Copilot has not been identified. As noted previously, the goal of the pilot program is to determine the value of the service.
  • Is my data safe when using Microsoft 365 Copilot?
    • Yes. Microsoft 365 Copilot can only work with data where you have been assigned permissions and does not share or expose data beyond what is already in place for your content. However, you should always consider the implications of utilizing AI for your specific use case.

Thank you,

Chapman University Information Systems and Technology (IS&T)