Microsoft 365 Copilot is coming to students at The University of Manchester, with Copilot Chat available now and a wider rollout of M365 Copilot licences planned from September 2027.
You can start by using Copilot Chat now
You can get started on Copilot Chat today. It’s already available to all students – all you need to do is sign in with your university email address and password and ask a question.
You could use Copilot Chat to explore a topic, plan revision or summarise notes you’ve chosen to upload. For more practical tips, explore the Library’s Using Generative AI in your learning resources.
Unlike other AI chats, your information stays within the University of Manchester’s environment.
What is M365 Copilot?
It’s an AI assistant that can help you bring together information from different places like emails, chats and files you have permission to access. For example, you could ask it to pull together key themes on a revision topic from your OneDrive notes and related Teams discussions, or catch up on a group project by summarising updates across shared files, emails and Teams chats. The difference is that it can find and connect that information across Microsoft 365, rather than you having to gather and upload each item yourself.
Your feedback is shaping the rollout
Before we roll out M365 Copilot, a smaller group of students will be testing the system during Semester 2 and helping us improve the experience for everyone – telling us what works and identifying what needs to change.
They’ll work with their teaching staff to try it in everyday learning, helping us check that guidance is clear, resources are useful and support meets our different accessibility needs. We’ll also explore when and how you can use AI in your studies and assessments, understanding what it can – and cannot – do.
This already builds on feedback from our student partners and Copilot Student Advisory Group, so thank you for the work you have already done to feed into this work.
We’ll use what we learn to adapt guidance, resources and support ahead of the wider rollout planned for September 2027.
Not sure where to start?
Take a look at our Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot explainer for ideas to try, tips on getting started, and a simple guide to what’s available now and what will be coming in September.
Before you try it, just make sure you use your University account so that Microsoft’s organisational data protections apply, and please check the AI category and instructions in your assessment brief on Canvas before using it for any assessments – not every assessment allows AI.
What happens next?
We’ll share further details about the pilot study soon. In the meantime, remember to explore Copilot Chat and the additional resources on MyManchester.
Further guidance