Copilot for Microsoft 365 @ UNC
Starting in Spring 2024, UNC will be piloting Copilot for Microsoft 365, an AI-powered addition to the Microsoft 365 suite (previously known as Microsoft Office).
What to know about Copilot for Microsoft 365
According to Microsoft, Copilot for Microsoft 365 works alongside users embedded in the Microsoft 365 apps they use every day — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and more — to unleash creativity, unlock productivity and uplevel skills.
Like other emerging technologies that have come before it, Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a new tool for UNC-Chapel Hill, and we want to learn more about its features and functionality prior to making it broadly available to campus.
What to know about the pilot:
- 600-800 staff and faculty will participate in Spring and Summer.
- Approximately 200 students will participate during the Fall 2024 semester.
- During the pilot, participants will have access to the full suite of Copilot for Microsoft 365 features.
- A research study will run concurrently with the operational pilot. More details to come soon about this study opportunity.
What do pilot participants have access to?
Participants will be allocated a license for Copilot for Microsoft 365. This is done “behind the scenes” and requires no action on the part of participants.
Pilot participants will be notified once their license is activated. At that point, they will have access to Copilot’s AI-assistant features across Microsoft 365 applications, such as Word, Outlook and Teams. They will have advanced features in Microsoft 365 that are not yet available to others on campus.
How were pilot participants chosen?
The process looked slightly different across campus units, but mostly, Deans and VCs worked with their IT leads to identify participants from a diverse group of faculty and staff across multiple functions and specialties.
There may be opportunities in the future to join additional pilots, so we encourage people who are not part of this first pilot to keep an eye on this page.
When will the pilot start?
Pilot participants should expect an official onboarding email in early April.
Are you a pilot participant looking for resources before the kickoff?
One of the pilot’s objectives is to discern the learnability of Copilot for Microsoft 365, so we do not require training as part of participation.
That said, we recognize that some of participants may wish to learn more about relevant topics related to Copilot for Microsoft 365. Consider these resources from LinkedIn Learning (available for free to all UNC faculty, staff and students):
Additionally, consider referencing Microsoft’s document “Microsoft 365 Copilot: The art and science of prompting” for an at-a-glance guide to prompting in Copilot.