Find out which Copilot you have been given
This is a draft
The steps below were written but have not yet been performed end to end on every tenant type, and the time is planned rather than measured with a stopwatch. Treat timings and the failure list as provisional. Interfaces and licence flags change. What that means
After this you will be able to
Say which Copilot surfaces you can open at work, and which ones are missing because of licence or policy.
Skip this if you already know whether you have Microsoft 365 Copilot with Home, whether Autopilot is available, and what your admin has switched off.
Before you start. Without looking: name three places Copilot might appear at work (for example the Copilot app, Word, Teams).
“We have Copilot” can mean different things. You might have Chat inside Word and Teams. You might have the Copilot app with Home. You might not yet have Code or Autopilot, because those roll out through Frontier or private preview and need spending policy. This lesson is about reading what is in front of you, not guessing from a blog.
If two people in the same organisation see different things, permissions and licence assignment are usually why.
What you need
- Your work computer or browser, signed in with your work account.
- Permission to open Copilot or the Microsoft 365 apps you already use.
- No cost on this site. Your organisation’s licences are separate.
The steps
- Open the Copilot app or go to the Copilot web experience your organisation uses. Do not install anything new unless IT has told you to.You should see a Copilot starting surface, or a message that you do not have access.
- Look for Home, and for a way to start Chat versus Cowork (or similar wording for delegated work). Note what you can open without an error.Write down: Home yes/no; Chat yes/no; Cowork yes/no or “not sure”.
- Open Word, Excel or Teams and check whether Copilot appears inside the app you already use.You should either see a Copilot entry point or confirm it is absent in that app.
- Ask a colleague in IT or a known champion one plain question: “Do we have Autopilot / Scout, and is usage-based Copilot spend switched on?” Write the answer you get, including “nobody knows”.You now have a short inventory: app Home, in-app Copilot, Autopilot availability, credit policy known or unknown.
Try this one first
On a scrap of paper, draw four boxes: Home · Chat in apps · Code · Autopilot. Tick only what you have evidence for today.
Empty boxes are useful. They are the start of a conversation with IT, not a personal failure.
If it goes wrong
You only see a consumer Copilot or a personal Microsoft account. Sign out and use your work account, or stop. Do not put work content into a personal tool.
Everything is greyed out or says contact your admin. That is an answer. Record it. Do not try to bypass policy.
A colleague has Home and you do not. Licence assignment and rollout rings differ. Ask who assigns Copilot licences; do not assume the product is broken.
Do today
Send yourself (or your manager) three lines: what you can open, what you cannot, and one question for IT.
Where else this works. The habit of inventorying what you were actually given works for every licensed tool, not only Copilot.
Did this work? If it did not, say what happened — hello@howtobedigital.com
Every failure anybody sends in ends up in the section above.
Checked by a person · not auto-published
Published 27 September 2026 · Last checked 27 September 2026
Draft — steps not yet timed on every licence type — quality bar
Re-check window: 60 days for Copilot lessons
Next
Copilot and AgentsPick Home, Code or Autopilot for a real piece of work14 minutes · choose a capability for one real task