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Question
How do I access Microsoft 365 Copilot agents through a basic account license?
Answer
Follow these steps to access Microsoft 365 Copilot agents through a basic account license;
NOTE: These instructions are for the non-subscription version of Copilot Chat (Basic) that is included in your M365 license. As of 4/15/2026, Copilot Chat (Basic) no longer is included within your M365 Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Copilot Chat (Basic) can still be used for the above applications, however the process to access them is different.
1. Go to https://www.office.com/ and login with your university credentials (username@umsystem.edu).
2. Locate 'All agents' on the left panel.
4. You will see a search bar to Search for agents.
5. Type “word” (for example) and select it.
6. Select Add under the Word app.
7. Once Word has been added to your Agents list, you can Pin the agent.
8. You can continue with the same process by adding PowerPoint and Excel to your Agents list as well.
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For Outlook – Both Classic and New Versions;
NOTE: The Copilot app will still be available within Outlook. A new Copilot feature has been added to Outlook called Grounding. Grounding will let you search\refer your entire inbox at once and not just a single email that is selected.
1. From Outlook, select the Copilot icon from the ribbon.
2. (Example prompt) Ask Copilot to “Summarize my last three emails”.
3. Copilot Chat (Basic) will then look at your entire inbox and summarize the requested email(s).
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Once the agent(s) have been added, you can easily access the agent from a Copilot chat by using the @ sign. For example, From a Copilot chat, start to type “@word” and Copilot will give you the option to access that agent.
For Additional Assistance
Please call the IT Help Desk at 573-882-5000, email at , or you may select Live Chat! (Contact Us section) on the .