All types of Copilot available today: the updated map of the Microsoft ecosystem

In recent years, the term Copilot has become a recurring element in Microsoft’s technology offerings. It is not a single product: on the contrary, it is a complex universe in which general-purpose tools coexist with solutions dedicated to specific professions and verticals, along with an ever-widening range of customizable agents.

Microsoft 365 Copilot represents the core of advanced productivity and collaboration applications.

Within the Microsoft 365 suite, Copilot is not limited to a single function, but is deeply integrated with key applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Loop, Planner/To Do, Stream, SharePoint, and OneDrive, extending to the entire web and mobile platform. In this context, Copilot provides writing assistance, data analysis, summary generation, meeting automation, and file and task management. A central characteristic of this family is its consistent experience: the same Copilot works across all apps, leveraging the context of enterprise data (via Microsoft Graph) and expanding with custom extensions developed through Copilot Studio.

Copilot in Windows 11, Edge, and the new Copilot⁺ PCs brings AI directly into the operating system and web browsing.

Microsoft wanted to give new centrality to the Copilot concept by making it an integral part of the Windows 11 operating system, especially in its version optimized for Copilot⁺ PCs. In this environment, Copilot becomes a constantly available sidebar assistant: it enables searches, answers contextual questions about what is displayed on screen, and manages system functions such as Recall (to retrieve past activities and files) and Click-to-Do (quick and smart actions). The Edge browser also has its own Copilot, specializing in web content analysis, page summaries, and visual comprehension via Copilot Vision.

The cloud and security universe sees Copilot take the form of specialist agents for Azure, Security, and Intune.

Beyond individual productivity, Microsoft has included Copilot in many of its cloud and security platforms. In Azure, Copilot helps design, optimize, and manage infrastructures, orchestrating resources and suggesting best practices directly in the portal. Security Copilot becomes a crucial tool for analyzing incidents, conducting threat hunting, and managing responses to attacks, integrating with tools like Defender and Sentinel. Along the same lines, Intune Copilot allows management of policies, compliance, and troubleshooting for company devices through natural language conversations, simplifying typically complex activities and reducing intervention times.

Power Platform and Copilot Studio expand conversational intelligence to data, automation, and custom agent development.

In the Power Platform landscape, Copilot is not limited to code suggestions or automation: it enables the design of entire apps, workflows, and data analyses starting from natural language descriptions. In Power Apps, Copilot transforms ideas into working prototypes; in Power Automate, it generates and explains flows, while in Power BI, it enables natural language interactions on dashboards and reports. Copilot Studio marks a breakthrough: it allows the creation of custom AI agents, which can be integrated into Teams, Microsoft 365, or even deployed as plugins in existing applications, opening the way to multi-agent automation scenarios and increasingly sophisticated business process orchestration.

GitHub Copilot and developer tools bring generative AI to every stage of programming.

Launched first among the Copilot family, GitHub Copilot revolutionized developer workflows by offering code completion, suggestions, snippet explanations, and natural language chat directly in Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, and CLI. The family has expanded with Copilot Chat, extensions for development environments, and Copilot for Azure, which brings AI to cloud resource management for developers. Here, the main distinction lies between the Individual (for single users), Business, and Enterprise versions, each with dedicated controls and policies.

Copilot in business applications and industry verticals: Sales, Service, Finance, and the new Tenant Copilot.

Microsoft has progressively introduced specialized Copilot solutions for specific business areas. Copilot for Sales (integrated in both Dynamics 365 and Salesforce) supports pipelines, customers, meetings, and automated follow-ups. In customer service and contact centers, Copilot for Customer Service extends these same logics to post-sales interactions, while Copilot for Finance (currently in preview) aims to transform the management of transactions, closings, and financial compliance. A significant novelty is Tenant Copilot, designed as a digital twin of the organization: it collects data, processes, and identities, serving as the central hub and entry point for company automations and analytics.

Viva, OneDrive, Planner, Loop, and other vertical Copilots complete the offering for employee experience and knowledge management.

The Copilot experience also extends to specific tools dedicated to organizational well-being (Viva Engage, Viva Insights), file management (OneDrive), project and task organization (Planner/To Do), dynamic collaboration (Loop), and even internal video and content management (Stream). In each case, Copilot adds capabilities for summarization, automation, intelligent organization, and enhanced search, becoming a transversal element in everyday work.

The Copilot ecosystem grows month after month, with new agents, roles, and customizable integrations in the enterprise.

The real strength of the Copilot strategy is its ability to extend and adapt to organizational needs: with Copilot Studio, companies can develop agents tailored to their processes, orchestrate automations, and integrate data from different sources, maintaining consistency with Microsoft’s governance and security standards. At the same time, the continuous expansion of vertical and industry-specific Copilots points to a trajectory in which every business function will be able to rely on a native, integrated, and highly contextualized AI assistant, truly capable of transforming the way work is done.

The regulatory issue surrounding the Copilot name and the challenges of trademark usage rights.

Microsoft’s use of the Copilot name has not been without controversy. In several countries and contexts, third-party companies have claimed the “Copilot” trademark or similar names for products related to artificial intelligence or software development, generating legal disputes and the need for regulatory clarification. In some jurisdictions, Microsoft has had to review the branding of certain features or face demands for compensation or licensing. These dynamics have shown that, in today’s market, the topic of naming rights remains complex, especially when it comes to generic names that evoke concepts like “assistant,” “pilot,” or “guide” in the tech sector. Attention to these issues is bound to increase, given the proliferation of AI solutions with easily overlapping names.

Competitors are moving toward similar models: Copilot alternatives and attempts at emulation by other big tech players.

The expansion of the Copilot ecosystem has accelerated the response of major competitors, who are launching their own “assistant” or “AI companion” solutions. Google has enhanced Gemini’s functions by integrating them into Google Workspace, while Salesforce is pushing Einstein Copilot. Companies such as Meta, SAP, Oracle, and Zoom have also begun developing AI agents that are increasingly integrated with their respective workflow and cloud platforms. Some of these projects seek to differentiate themselves by focusing on customization, privacy, or vertical capabilities, but the logic of the cross-functional, multi-purpose assistant is establishing itself as the new industry standard. This competitive scenario fuels the speed of innovation but makes it even more difficult for users to navigate between names, brands, and similar promises.

The future prospects of Copilot between announced developments and new areas of expansion.

Microsoft has already announced several future developments for the Copilot ecosystem. Tests are underway for new voice interaction modes, the integration of Copilot into industrial production processes through IoT modules, and greater openness to APIs for orchestrating custom agents even outside the Microsoft ecosystem. The focus on security, governance, and customization will remain central, with the goal of making each Copilot truly adaptable to the workflows of both large and small companies. In terms of functionality, new predictive capabilities are expected, even smarter document management, and the progressive convergence of different Copilots into an increasingly unified experience. These evolutions are set to redefine, month by month, the role that artificial intelligence plays in supporting daily work and organizational management.

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