Microsoft's Copilot AI technology is rapidly expanding across its product portfolio, with over a dozen Copilot-branded products powering various capabilities in Microsoft software and services. From summarizations in Microsoft Outlook to transcriptions in Microsoft Teams, Copilot is becoming an integral part of the company's productivity-boosting strategy. However, the technology's growth also raises concerns about fair use and copyright infringement, as it was trained on public data without permission.

Copilot, previously known as Bing Chat, is built into Microsoft's search engine, Bing, as well as Windows 10, Windows 11, and the Microsoft Edge sidebar. The technology can perform a range of tasks described in natural language, including writing poems and essays, translating text into other languages, and summarizing sources from around the web. Copilot can also browse the web for up-to-date information, giving it an advantage over offline bots.

In addition to its integration with Microsoft products, Copilot also supports plug-ins for third-party apps and websites, such as Instacart, Kayak, and Shopify. This allows users to access a wide range of features and capabilities, from meal planning and cooking-related questions to trip planning and restaurant reservations. Copilot also drives Copilot Pages, an embeddable digital canvas where users can edit and share Copilot-originated content.

Microsoft offers a premium version of Copilot, called Copilot Pro, which provides additional features and capabilities, including priority access to the most capable OpenAI models, higher-resolution images from Image Creator, and generative AI functions across the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps. Copilot Pro also gives users access to BizChat, a business-focused hub that ties into Pages to pull data from the web and work files to help create project plans, meeting notes, proposals, and more.

However, Copilot's growth and capabilities also raise concerns about fair use and copyright infringement. The technology was trained on public data without permission, which has led to lawsuits from data owners alleging licensing and IP violations. Microsoft argues that the fair-use doctrine shields it from copyright claims, but the issue remains unresolved, and some customers may be hesitant to adopt the technology due to ethical concerns.

GitHub, a Microsoft-owned platform, also offers a version of Copilot, called GitHub Copilot, which is a set of tools for generating code and supporting programming work. GitHub Copilot can be installed as an extension for IDEs, including Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, Neovim, and JetBrains, or used in the cloud with GitHub Codespaces. The technology has been trained on billions of lines of code from various programming languages and can suggest code as users type, translate code into natural language descriptions, and allow developers to extend Copilot with third-party skills.

Despite the concerns surrounding fair use and copyright infringement, Microsoft's Copilot AI technology has the potential to revolutionize productivity and workflow across various industries. As the technology continues to evolve and expand, it will be important to monitor its development and address the ethical concerns surrounding its use.

This article will be updated periodically with new information as the story continues to unfold.