Microsoft Copilot for Teachers: What Is Free, What Is Paid, What to Try

Three Different Things Called "Copilot"

Most confusion about Microsoft Copilot for teachers comes from the name. In an education setting there are at least three separate things, with different costs, and it helps to know which one your school actually has before you plan how to use it.

1. Copilot Chat: a secure AI chat that Microsoft says is included at no additional cost with Microsoft 365. It runs on a current GPT model and sits behind your school account's data protection and IT controls.
2. The Teach module: a set of tools inside the Microsoft 365 Copilot app for education customers, described by Microsoft as rolling out at no additional cost. It helps educators create lesson plans, and draft quizzes and rubrics, then adjust them for language, reading level, length and difficulty.
3. Microsoft 365 Copilot: the full version built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. For education, Microsoft announced an academic price of USD 18 per user per month for educators, staff and students aged 13 and over, starting in December 2025. This is a paid add-on that your school buys, not something an individual teacher turns on.

These details come from Microsoft's own announcement and may have changed since. Ask your IT administrator which of the three your school account includes.

What Teachers Can Do with Each Layer

With Copilot Chat (included)

• Draft a lesson outline from a topic and objective.
• Rewrite a text at a lower reading level, or produce a short glossary.
• Write a first draft of a parent email or a rubric.

With the Teach Module (included for education customers)

• Generate a lesson plan, then change its reading level, length or difficulty.
• Draft quizzes and rubrics aligned to the standards you give it.

With Full Microsoft 365 Copilot (paid add-on)

• Word: draft and reshape a document from a prompt, or summarise a long one.
• PowerPoint: build a first slide deck from an outline or a document you provide.
• Excel: ask questions about a table of marks and have it suggest summaries and charts.
• Outlook: summarise long email threads and draft replies.

Prompts You Can Copy

• Lesson plan: "Create a lesson plan on equivalent fractions for Year 4. Include objectives, a starter, three activities and one remedial activity. Keep each activity under 15 minutes."
• Slides: "Create a 10-slide presentation for a school assembly on Environment Day. Include three facts with sources and five practical tips for students."
• Excel: "Find the average mark for each subject and highlight marks below 40 in red. List the five students who most need extra support."

For the Excel example, use anonymised data, such as student codes instead of names.

Using It Responsibly

• Start with low-risk tasks: lesson drafts, slides and routine emails. Leave marking decisions and anything about an individual student to your own judgement.
• Check the output. AI can state wrong facts with confidence. Verify dates, figures and any source it cites.
• Know your school's data rules. Microsoft describes enterprise data protection for Copilot Chat, but what you may enter is decided by your school's policy. Do not paste identifiable student information unless the policy clearly allows it.
• Be clear with students. If you use AI to prepare materials, say so, and teach students to check AI answers.

Limitations

• Cost and access differ by school. The paid add-on is a school decision. Without it, you are limited to Copilot Chat and the Teach module.
• Language. Results are usually strongest in English. In other languages, check terminology and phrasing.
• Features change often. Names, limits and prices move quickly, so treat any article, including this one, as a snapshot and check Microsoft's current pages.

Where to Start

Ask your administrator what your account includes. Then try one task in Copilot Chat, such as a lesson outline for next week, and compare it with what you would have written yourself.

This article is also available in Malay. Use the BM | EN switch at the top of the page.

Further Reading

Books on Microsoft 365 for teachers on Amazon (affiliate link: I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you).

Sources

1. Microsoft Education blog: New AI experiences and academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot