Microsoft Copilot Chat, Copilot and Copilot Studio

Several versions of Copilot (generative artificial intelligence) are available within Microsoft 365 at MU, differing in terms of features and licences. This page provides an overview of the available versions, their uses, and how to obtain licences. We also provide general information about other AI tools currently available.

Please note that this product should not be confused with Microsoft 365 Copilot – despite the similar name, these are not the same product (Microsoft 365 Copilot is not widely available to MUNI users; a higher licence must be purchased to obtain it.) More information about the tool and licence purchase options can be found here.

What can Microsoft Copilot assist with?

In a university environment (or in education in general), generative artificial intelligence can be used for various purposes. Typical uses include:

• Working with text – creating, shortening, or rephrasing various types of text.
• Brainstorming support – generating ideas, evaluating them, and developing them further.
• Code generation – Copilot Chat is capable of generating executable code based on user requests.
• Research and finding answers – providing answers to questions with references to the sources used.
• Learning support – simplifying complex problems and explaining them using examples.

Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft M365 Copilot is an AI assistant integrated directly into applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and others. It can be used, for example, to automatically generate texts, summarize and create emails, draft and summarize meetings, create presentations, analyze data, create charts in Excel, and more.

Obtaining a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence

Microsoft M365 Copilot is not universally available to all users at MU. It requires the purchase of a higher licence, for which internal funding must be secured at the requester's workplace. If you are interested in purchasing a Copilot licence for Microsoft 365 applications, please send an email to licence@ics.muni.cz or submit a request via the MUNI service portal.

The request must specify the required number of licences, including the UČO numbers of the users to whom these licences will be assigned. The licence can be transferred to another user during the year. The price of the licence for 1 user is approximately CZK 725 per month excluding VAT and is always paid for the entire period until the anniversary of the contract (December 31). Unfortunately, monthly billing is not possible.

Copilot Studio

This is a tool for creating custom AI agents within the Microsoft AI platform.

An AI agent can independently perform tasks according to specified rules and objectives. An AI agent can take the form of a regular AI chatbot and respond to user queries, but it can also have more active functions:

• automate processes,
• search for information,
• trigger actions in connected systems (e.g., reservations, request tracking).

In Copilot Studio, you can design and customize such an agent for the needs of your team or project. For example, you can create an agent that will answer frequently asked questions from students or help them navigate internal documents.

Creating, testing and operating AI agents

Copilot Studio is available at https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com. To familiarize yourself with the environment and create and test AI agents, a 30-day trial licence is available (with the option to extend for another 30 days). This licence can be activated when you first log in to Copilot Studio.

After publishing an agent, you must use Copilot credits to operate it, or have a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence assigned to you. Internal funding is required to purchase these credits. If you are interested, please contact your IT department.

Once published, AI agents can be used in Teams, Copilot Chat, websites, and other places where users can interact with them.

Other AI tools

There are a number of advanced artificial intelligence tools available that can be used for writing, data analysis, translation, programming, and other tasks.

ChatGPT

• Strengths:
  • Excellent at text generation, summarization, translation, and programming.
  • Intuitive interface, large community, and support.
  • Ability to switch between different models (including GPT-4).
• Weaknesses:
  • The free version has limited features and performance.
  • For the paid version, you need to keep an eye on the license terms and data processing.
  • Learning from input data (depending on settings).

Gemini

• Strengths:
  • Good integration with Google tools (Docs, Sheets, Gmail).
  • Fast responses and access to up-to-date information from the web.
• Weaknesses:
  • Limited availability in some regions.
  • Less accurate responses to more complex technical topics.
  • Requires logging into a personal Google account.

Claude

• Strengths:
  • Emphasis on security, transparency, and ethics.
  • Handles longer texts and contextual understanding well.
• Weaknesses:
  • Less widespread, limited access outside the US.
  • Fewer tutorials and support for regular users.

Grok

• Strengths:
  • Connected to the X platform (formerly Twitter), access to current data.
  • Interesting for tech enthusiasts and developers.
• Weaknesses:
  • Limited availability, still a rather experimental tool.
  • Unclear licensing terms and data processing.

DeepSeek

• Based on a warning from the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB), the MU Cyber Security Team does not recommend using DeepSeek products, either for work or personal purposes. For more information, see the related article.

Additional Information

• How to Use AI to Support Learning in Microsoft 365?
• Information about Microsoft Copilot on Microsoft's website
• Examples of good practices in using Copilot in various fields
• Examples of good practices in using Copilot in teaching and learning from Harvard University

Redirects to Microsoft Copilot Chat.