In March 2024, the Cornell community gained access to Microsoft Copilot Enterprise, an artificial intelligence resource that allows us to use AI (including image generation) and which also has data protection for Cornell’s low-risk use cases. Since then, Microsoft has made a few changes to Copilot, improving the experience for those who use it. 

Copilot now remembers your conversations

Originally, Copilot was designed to erase your chat history, a frustrating situation for those accustomed to referencing (or repeating) previous conversations in an AI tool. Now Copilot remembers your chats from session to session.

No more advertising

Microsoft discontinued its experiment to slip advertising in to your chat responses. When using Copilot with your Cornell account, you should have an ad-free experience.

Changes to the shield icon

In March, a green shield icon displayed next to your avatar when you logged in to Copilot with your NetID. This icon assured you that you were using Cornell’s private version of Microsoft Copilot Enterprise. That shield icon changed to a clear, or open, shield. You can see an example of the old and new shields for your reference.

November 11, 2024 update: Microsoft responded to customer feedback and changed the icon back to a green shield.

Coming soon…

Microsoft continues to refine Copilot by adding – and sometimes removing – features. To see what they have planned for the next few months, refer to their FAQ about Copilot.