Does Microsoft Copilot Utilize GPT-4o? An In-Depth Exploration

Microsoft’s Copilot has emerged as a pivotal AI-powered assistant within the Microsoft 365 suite, enhancing productivity across applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. With the advent of advanced language models, particularly OpenAI‘s GPT-4o, questions have arisen regarding the integration of such models into Copilot. This article delves into whether Microsoft Copilot employs GPT-4o, examining the evolution of Copilot, the capabilities of GPT-4o, and the current state of their integration.

What Is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-driven assistant designed to augment user productivity within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Introduced in 2023, Copilot integrates seamlessly with applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, offering features such as:

• Content Generation in Word: Assisting in drafting and editing documents.
• Data Analysis in Excel: Providing insights and visualizations from complex datasets.
• Presentation Design in PowerPoint: Creating and refining presentation slides.
• Email Management in Outlook: Summarizing threads and suggesting replies.
• Meeting Summaries in Teams: Highlighting key discussion points and action items.

These functionalities are powered by large language models (LLMs) that understand and generate human-like text, enabling Copilot to assist users effectively.

What Is GPT-4o?

GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”) is OpenAI’s multilingual, multimodal generative pre-trained transformer model, released in May 2024. It represents a significant advancement over its predecessors by processing and generating text, images, and audio. Key features of GPT 4o include:

• Multimodal Capabilities: Ability to handle text, images, and audio inputs and outputs.
• Enhanced Performance: Achieved state-of-the-art results in voice, multilingual, and vision benchmarks upon release.
• Extended Context Window: Supports a context length of up to 128,000 tokens, facilitating more comprehensive interactions.
• Internet Access: Can retrieve up-to-date information beyond its training data.

These attributes position GPT-4o as a versatile and powerful AI model capable of a wide range of applications.

Does Microsoft Copilot Use GPT-4o?

As of April 2025, Microsoft Copilot does not utilize GPT 4o. Instead, it employs GPT-4 Turbo, an enhanced version of GPT-4. In March 2024, Microsoft integrated GPT-4 Turbo into the free tier of Copilot, providing users with advanced language model capabilities without additional cost. Mikhail Parakhin, who oversees Microsoft’s advertising and web services, confirmed this update, stating that GPT-4 Turbo replaced GPT-4 in the Copilot free tier, while Pro users retained the option to choose between models

GPT-4 Turbo offers several improvements over GPT-4, including a larger context window and faster processing times, enhancing the overall user experience within Copilot.

Why Doesn’t Copilot Use GPT-4o?

Several factors may contribute to Microsoft’s decision not to integrate GPT-4o into Copilot at this time:

1. Model Maturity: GPT-4o, being a newer model released in May 2024, may still be under evaluation for stability and reliability in enterprise applications.
2. Resource Optimization: GPT-4 Turbo has been optimized for performance and cost-effectiveness, aligning with Microsoft’s goal to provide efficient AI services to a broad user base.
3. Integration Complexity: Incorporating a multimodal model like GPT-4o into existing systems may require significant architectural changes, which could be resource-intensive and time-consuming.

These considerations suggest that while GPT 4o offers advanced capabilities, practical factors influence its adoption in products like Copilot.

What Are the Implications of Using GPT-4 Turbo Instead of GPT-4o?

The use of GPT-4 Turbo in Copilot has several implications:

• Performance: GPT-4 Turbo provides robust language processing capabilities, enhancing user interactions within Microsoft 365 applications.
• Accessibility: By integrating GPT-4 Turbo into the free tier of Copilot, Microsoft democratizes access to advanced AI tools, allowing a wider audience to benefit from AI-driven assistance.
• Cost Efficiency: GPT-4 Turbo’s optimizations contribute to reduced operational costs, enabling Microsoft to offer powerful AI features without significant price increases.

While GPT-4o introduces multimodal functionalities, GPT-4 Turbo’s integration into Copilot ensures a balance between advanced features and practical deployment considerations.

Could Copilot Integrate GPT-4o in the Future?

The potential integration of GPT-4o into Copilot remains a possibility, contingent upon several factors:

• Technological Advancements: As GPT-4o matures and its capabilities are further validated, it may become a viable option for integration.
• User Demand: Increased user interest in multimodal functionalities could drive Microsoft to adopt models like GPT-4o to meet evolving needs.
• Infrastructure Readiness: Microsoft’s ability to adapt its infrastructure to support the complex requirements of GPT-4o will influence integration decisions.
• Monitoring these developments will provide insights into the future trajectory of Copilot’s AI capabilities.

How Does Copilot’s AI Compare to Competitors?

Microsoft Copilot’s integration of GPT-4 Turbo positions it competitively within the AI assistant landscape. Competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, powered by GPT-4o, offer advanced multimodal capabilities, including text, image, and audio processing. However, Copilot’s deep integration with Microsoft 365 applications provides a seamless user experience, particularly for users embedded within the Microsoft ecosystem. While GPT-4o’s multimodal features are impressive, Copilot’s use of GPT-4 Turbo ensures robust performance and accessibility, aligning with Microsoft’s focus on delivering practical and efficient AI solutions.​

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Conclusion

As of April 2025, Microsoft Copilot does not utilize OpenAI’s GPT 4o but instead employs GPT-4 Turbo to power its AI-driven functionalities. This strategic choice reflects considerations of model maturity, resource optimization, and integration complexity. While GPT4 o offers advanced multimodal capabilities, Copilot’s current implementation with GPT-4 Turbo provides users with a reliable and efficient AI assistant deeply integrated into the Microsoft 365 suite. Future developments may see the incorporation of models like GPT-4o as they mature and align with Microsoft’s product strategies.​