Microsoft’s AI features for Office, called Copilot, are tied to its Microsoft 365 plans, and the newest ones arrive in stages. Office 2024 is a one-time purchase; according to Office Watch, paid Copilot plans cannot be linked to it. Windows 11 version 26H2 adds AI controls rather than a big redesign.
Key takeaways
- Microsoft’s AI features for Office are tied to Microsoft 365 plans. According to Office Watch, Office 2024 does not include Copilot and paid Copilot plans cannot be linked to it, though free Copilot services can be used alongside it.
- “Office in Copilot”, announced on 9 October, places Word, Excel and PowerPoint functionality inside the Copilot app. It started with Frontier early-access customers, so not everyone has it.
- Windows 11 version 26H2 began rolling out on 29 September. Microsoft describes it as a lightweight release that mainly activates features already in the system.
- A “Copilot+ PC” is a hardware category with a neural processor rated at 40 TOPS or more. We could not confirm a current official list of which features need one.
- A one-time licence and an AI assistant are separate decisions: you can use a free or third-party assistant next to Office 2024.
What do the Copilot terms mean?
“Copilot” now means several different things, which is the main reason people get confused.
- The Copilot app: a redesigned app with Home (Copilot Chat plus a task agent called Cowork), Code (building small apps from a description) and Autopilot, a persistent agent that Techeconomy reported was moving to private preview at the end of September.
- Copilot inside Word, Excel and Outlook: the assistant panel in the Office apps themselves, which depends on your Microsoft 365 plan.
- Copilot in Windows: assistant features built into the operating system, such as the taskbar entry.
- Copilot+ PC: a hardware category, not a software product. It means a PC with a neural processing unit rated at 40 TOPS or more (PCWorld).
What can the AI do in each Office app?
Word
According to Office Watch’s round-up of Microsoft’s September Copilot updates, Copilot in Word can now cite its sources, although the author had not yet seen the feature. The same piece says moving or resizing pictures by instruction is much slower than clicking a button. A reasonable summary: useful for first drafts, rewriting and summarising, and clumsy for fine layout.
Excel
Office Watch reports that Copilot editing in Excel, Word and PowerPoint reached Android phones in September, which it considers suitable only for small edits, and that typing @ in Copilot Chat brings up a list of Skills. Microsoft’s own post says Excel now lets you review Copilot’s edits to see what changed and offers chart recommendations. This helps with formulas and tidying data, but you still need to check totals yourself.
Outlook and Teams
Copilot’s panel in Outlook and Teams was redesigned to match the main Copilot app. Office Watch’s reading is that nothing was removed; things moved.
PowerPoint
Microsoft says Copilot helps keep a deck on-brand and applies custom templates quickly. Office Watch also describes saved, repeatable Copilot workflows called Skills for PowerPoint.
What is “Office in Copilot”?
Microsoft says Office in Copilot gives you Word, Excel and PowerPoint functionality inside the Copilot app. You can start in Chat or Cowork, see a document alongside the conversation, and carry on editing with follow-up prompts or directly. Files are saved to OneDrive and keep formatting, comments, sharing permissions and version history, and existing security labels and governance controls carry over. You can choose a model for a task or leave it on Auto.
Three cautions apply:
- It is staged. Microsoft’s post says it is available for Frontier customers, in Chat and Cowork. Frontier is an early-access programme that organisations opt into. Office Watch warns that a label such as “September 2026” does not mean features arrive that month.
- It depends on your account type. Some features are limited to work or school accounts, and some to Frontier or beta testers.
- Billing differs by feature. Techeconomy reports that regular Copilot use is covered by a user subscription licence, while Cowork, Code and Autopilot use usage-based billing. We give no figures here; check Microsoft’s current plan pages.
We have not found a Microsoft statement of UK availability dates, so please check before assuming a feature is available to you.
What changed in Windows 11 version 26H2?
Windows 11 version 26H2 began rolling out on 29 September 2026, in phases, so not every PC sees it at once. Guru3D, summarising Microsoft’s announcement, says Microsoft describes it as a lightweight release that mainly activates features already present in the operating system. The visible AI-related changes are in Settings, a Task Manager that can show AI tasks and NPU activity, and a taskbar that makes AI tools easier to reach. If you are weighing a licence for the system itself, our Windows 11 Pro page and the wider Windows licences category list the options.
Do you need a Copilot+ PC?
Not for everything. PCWorld reported in October 2025 that Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi confirmed none of the then-new Copilot functions, such as Copilot Actions, the “Hey Copilot” wake word, connected apps and a taskbar entry, required a Copilot+ PC, with one Zoom-related Click to Do integration as the exception. That report is more than a year old, so treat it as background rather than the current rule. We could not confirm an up-to-date official list of features that need Copilot+ hardware, so check Microsoft’s documentation for the specific feature before buying a new PC for it.
Perpetual licence or subscription: how do they differ?
This is a licensing question, not a quality judgement.
| Question | Office 2024 (one-time purchase) | Microsoft 365 (subscription) |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Once, per version | Ongoing |
| Features | “A subset” of Microsoft 365 features added over the previous three years (Office Watch) | New features arrive first, often in stages |
| Copilot | Not included; paid Copilot plans cannot be linked (Office Watch); free Copilot services can be used alongside | The route to Microsoft’s paid Copilot features |
| Support period | About five years, to October 2029 (Office Watch) | Continues while subscribed |
The Office 2024 details come from an Office Watch page dated January 2026, and Office Watch notes that Microsoft can change these terms at any time, so confirm the current position with Microsoft.
Which is better depends on your work. If you mainly write letters, keep spreadsheets and send email, a one-time version covers that without any AI. If you want Microsoft’s AI inside the Office apps, a subscription is currently the route. Our Office Professional Plus 2024 page and Office licences category cover the one-time option.
Is there a third path?
Yes: use a separate assistant next to your Office. Anthropic, for example, offers add-ins for Excel and PowerPoint (announced in March 2026) that read cells, write formulas and edit slides, in beta for paid Claude plans on Mac and Windows. Other assistants can be used in a browser window beside any Office version. Our guide to which AI assistant suits which task compares them.
How should you decide?
- AI inside the document, with your permission settings and file history? Look at Microsoft 365 and Copilot, and ask your administrator about Frontier.
- AI only occasionally? A one-time Office licence plus a separate assistant may be enough.
Frequently asked questions
Does Office 2024 include Copilot?
No. According to Office Watch, Office 2024 does not include Copilot features, and paid Copilot plans cannot be linked to it. Free Copilot services can be used alongside it.
Do I need a new PC for AI in Windows?
Not necessarily. Some features are tied to a Copilot+ PC with a 40-TOPS neural processor, while others have worked on ordinary Windows 11 PCs. Check each feature’s requirements with Microsoft.
Will a document created in Copilot open in an older Office?
Microsoft says files from Office in Copilot are saved to OneDrive with their formatting, comments and version history, and that context carries over to the standalone Office apps. We have not tested opening them in older versions, so check any cloud-dependent features before relying on them.
Can I switch on Frontier myself?
It is an early-access programme that organisations opt into, so for work accounts it is usually an administrator’s decision.
Sources
- Introducing Office in the new Microsoft Copilot app (Microsoft Windows blog, 9 October 2026 (Japanese edition, 14 October 2026)). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Microsoft Copilot September 2026 updates (Office Watch, 6 October 2026). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Office 2024 for Windows and Mac (Office Watch, 9 January 2026). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Report on the new Copilot app, plans and billing (Techeconomy, 25 September 2026). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Windows 11 26H2 rollout begins with AI features and interface changes (Guru3D, September 2026). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Every Windows 11 PC is becoming an AI PC (PCWorld, 16 October 2025). Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Advancing Claude for Excel and PowerPoint (Anthropic / Claude, 11 March 2026). Accessed 5 November 2026.
