Answered Question asked by Wade Williams

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The question

I am a high school science teacher. For me, CoPilot is a post graduate learning experience. I have been teaching science for more than 25 years and use the free chat to upload, vet, and improve my existing curriculum, as well as direct instruction where it teaches me the fine points of physical science (I teach Earth Science, Chemistry and Physics). But the free product doesn’t allow for enough time to get the job done. So I bounce back and forth between different free AI models. I am unsure what version/price point matches my needs, but CoPilot has definitely become my go-to AI advisor. Also, our Windows school account has chat turned off (our IT guy is a Google Guy). It would be even better if I could piggy back onto our school Microsoft account as I already use the school OneDrive to park my curriculum for kids to access.

Can you address these questions: For home use, what price tier works best for me? If I can talk the school into subscribing for CoPilot, what tier level would they have to offer?

Regards, Wade Williams

The answer

Hi Wade — thanks for explaining how you’re using Copilot. For one person at home, I’d start with Microsoft 365 Personal. It includes Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, 1 TB of OneDrive storage, and higher Copilot usage than the free tier. Compare the current individual plans and prices for your region. If you regularly hit the limits or need the extra research and analysis features, Premium is the next tier; I wouldn’t start there unless you need those features.

At school, ask IT whether they can enable free Copilot Chat for your school account. Eligible school accounts (including A1, A3 and A5) can use it at no extra cost, and it supports uploading individual files. If you want Copilot to find and reason over school files in OneDrive/Microsoft 365 directly, that requires paid academic Microsoft 365 Copilot and a qualifying school subscription. Microsoft currently lists the academic offer at US$18 per user/month; your school can confirm eligibility and its agreement price. Microsoft’s education overview.

Your personal and school accounts are separate, so Personal won’t switch on Copilot in the school account. Since it’s currently off, the school’s IT team will need to enable Copilot Chat; for school material, follow the school’s AI and data rules. Copilot Chat admin guidance.