Using Copilot Chat AI at Drake (FAQ)

Microsoft Copilot is Drake University's approved AI assistant, available to all students, faculty, and staff. This article explains what Copilot is, the different license options available at Drake, how it compares to other AI tools, and the security and privacy protections that help keep University data safe.

What is Copilot AI?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that uses the same advanced technology behind tools like ChatGPT, but is designed to work directly within a Microsoft 365 environment. While ChatGPT helps answer questions and generate content through a chat interface, Copilot can also securely access information you already have permission to use, such as emails, documents, and meetings, depending on your license.

Who has access to Copilot?

Every active student, faculty, and staff member at Drake has access to Copilot and can access it in multiple ways.

•  Copilot can be accessed from MyDrake by selecting it from the waffle in the upper left hand corner.
  
• Faculty and staff may have a full Microsoft 365 Copilot license which will provide access to the tool directly in Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Excel, OneDrive, etc.) This license is an additional annual expense beyond the standard Copilot access.

What are the types of Copilot licenses?

Drake users may encounter two Copilot license options.

• Copilot Chat is the base license everyone has access to. You can interact with the chat interface, similar to ChatGPT, via a web interface. Chats are associated with your account and can be referenced at a later time. You can upload documents or paste information for Copilot to analyze.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot is an additional annual license that integrates Copilot directly into Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive. It can also securely use content you already have permission to access, including emails, files, Teams chats, and meeting information.

Below is a chart to demonstrate the differences in access for each license type. 

How does Copilot compare to other chat agents?

Copilot is powered by advanced large language models (LLMs), including technology developed by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Microsoft has integrated these models into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, allowing Copilot to provide AI assistance while working within Microsoft's security, privacy, and productivity tools.

Depending on your license, you may be able to choose from multiple AI models when using the Copilot chat experience.

• Every account has access to OpenAI models
  
• Paid license users gain additional access to Claude LLM
  

Is my data secure if I use Copilot?

One of the most important advantages of using Copilot with your Drake license is that it's built on Microsoft's enterprise-grade security, privacy, and compliance framework. Unlike other public AI services (ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini), Copilot is designed to work within our organization's existing security and data protection policies.

• Your data stays your data.
  • Prompts are not used to train Microsoft's AI models.
  • Responses are not used to train the underlying large language model (LLM).
  • Organizational data accessed through Microsoft 365, such as emails, files, chats, and meeting content, is not used to train AI models.
• Enterprise security and privacy
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot operates within the same security and compliance framework that protects your data. It honors:
    • Existing user permissions
    • Data loss prevention policies
    • Sensitivity labels
    • Compliance requirements
    • Security controls by role
  • This means Copilot can only access information a user already has permission to view. If you don't have access to files or sites, neither does Copilot. 
• Protection for Higher Education
  • For colleges and universities, these protections help support:
    • Student privacy
    • Institutional data 
    • Research confidentiality
    • Compliance with applicable educational and privacy regulations
    • Responsible use of AI across academic and administrative functions

Simply put, Microsoft Copilot provides enterprise security, privacy, and compliance protections designed to keep institutional data within Drake's existing security boundaries.