At this point, it"s clear that Microsoft is all-in on Copilot. Recently, the company integrated the technology with Mercedes-Benz cars, enabled Windows 11 to share their screen with Copilot, and even utilized the assistive model in its internal code reviews. Now, in a bid to further promote its product, Microsoft has announced the general availability of Microsoft 365 Copilot Search.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Search is being described as a unified search experience that leverages the power of AI (obviously) to retrieve the data that you require across Microsoft platforms like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Outlook in one fell swoop. Basically, Copilot search utilizes connectors to unify results from fragmented systems based on your current context and workflows.
Microsoft has emphasized this as a major upgrade from the traditional Microsoft 365 search experience due to its dynamic nature, which fetches information from seemingly disconnected data silos.
Other benefits of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Search experience include connectivity with third-party services like ServiceNow and Workday, AI-powered insights and query recommendations, and availability across desktop, mobile, and web platforms. It is accessible through the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, as well as Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and other associated experiences.
Microsoft has described the revamped search experience as a "catalyst for innovation" that will rethink the way we search for information. It believes that Microsoft 365 Copilot will assist its customers in achieving more through AI-powered actionable insights.
The good news is that Microsoft 365 Copilot Search is available for all customers with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Those who do not have this premium license (see licensing details here) will continue to see the "classic" search experience, also known as "Microsoft Search". It will be interesting to see how Microsoft customers respond to the upgraded experience, especially considering that the reaction to Copilot has arguably been lukewarm.