Copilot Pro: Do you need it? Paid and free version compared

Fairly recently, Microsoft launched Copilot Pro, a paid version of its Copilot AI assistant. As you have already read in our previous post, the company moves up in long strides; it’s already overtaken Apple in terms of market capitalization, and major investors attribute this success, projected to last for at least 5 years, to its romance with artificial intelligence. Naturally, a business always seeks to maximize return on a good investment, and Copilot Pro is part of this effort for Microsoft.

Copilot vs Copilot Pro

Regular, unpaid Copilot is always available to you standalone in Windows, macOS, iOS (for iPad), and on the web. It’s not really unique, compared to other options, since the hood thereof hides OpenAI’s GPTs, which are easily accessed through numerous other channels. But, it is a matter of convenience: it’s just simpler to hit Win + C and have the AI assistant all ears than browsing somewhere to get your queries answered.

Handy as it is, unpaid Copilot is not without limitations:

it is quick to respond only during off-peak hours;
it is still a standalone deal, which means you have to copy and paste;
If you’re big on AI-generated images, there are only 15 queries of this sort (“boosts”) available on any given day.

How does that compare to Copilot Pro? Microsoft addresses exactly these handicaps:

with a Pro subscription, you get priority access to GPT4 and GPT4 Turbo any time you need them;
Copilot integrates with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote (Personal and Family plans);
and the number of boosts is up to 100 a day.

Thus, if you’re a content creator that builds decks in PowerPoint and/or authors pieces in Word, or if you wrangle data in Excel, or routinely react to hundreds of emails, Copilot Pro may make your life easier.

So, do you really need Copilot Pro?

Bottom line: if the above reasons resonate with your daily routine, you do have such tasks before you on a regular basis, do give Copilot Pro a spin. Likely, you’ll find it convenient at the outset, and, given the price – US$20/month isn’t much, you have to agree, – well worth the investment. However, try benchmarking your performance for a “before and after” analysis. Time a typical task with and without assistance of Copilot Pro; repeat at least a dozen times for both scenarios, and then just compare the resulting hours and minutes. This simple exercise should help you understand if you need the subscription or not.