Service Summary | Key Features | Getting This Service | Availability | Policy | Additional Information |

Service Summary

Microsoft Copilot for the Web is a free, AI-powered web chat that university students and employees can use to access generative AI. It’s available to those with a valid Microsoft 365 license.

Key Features

Microsoft Copilot for the Web lets you chat with an AI agent while logged into your Mason Microsoft account on your browser that can answer your questions, generate content, or help you with tasks using public online data. Copilot for the Web helps users tackle everyday tasks such as drafting an email, summarizing PDFs and articles, generating images, learning new skills, and getting answers to complex questions.

  • Conversational Assistance: Engage in natural language conversations to get help with various tasks
  • Web Search: Perform web searches to find up-to-date information and provide accurate answers
  • Productivity Tools: Assist with scheduling, reminders, and managing to-do lists
  • Document Assistance: Help with drafting, editing, and summarizing documents
  • Data Analysis: Provide insights and analysis on data, including generating charts and graphs

NOTE: 

  • Licensing for other Microsoft Copilot products such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Copilot Studio is not yet available
  • Microsoft Copilot is still being assessed at this time it is not approved for sensitive or restricted data

Getting This Service

Microsoft Copilot for the Web is available to all active faculty, staff, and students.

To access Microsoft Copilot for the Web navigate to https://copilot.cloud.microsoft/ and log in with your NetID and Patriot Pass Password.

Security & Privacy

Microsoft Copilot combines the generative AI capabilities of Bing Chat with commercial data protection. This means user and business data is protected and will not leak outside your organization, prompts and responses are not saved, no one at Microsoft can view it, and chat data isn’t used to train underlying large language model (LLM). The app offers access to powerful AI models such as GPT-4 and up-to-date information with cited sources. When you sign in with an eligible work or school account, you receive enterprise data protection.

Key Aspects:

  • Data Encryption: Copilot ensures that all data transmitted between the user’s device and Microsoft servers is encrypted using industry-standard protocols. This safeguards information from unauthorized access during transit.
  • User Consent: Copilot operates based on user consent. It doesn’t process any data without explicit permission. Users control what information they share with the tool.
  • Anonymization: Copilot anonymizes data during training. It doesn’t retain personal identifiers or sensitive information about individual users.
  • Aggregated Learning: Copilot learns from aggregated patterns across a large user base. It doesn’t focus on specific individuals, maintaining privacy.
  • Compliance with Regulations: Microsoft adheres to global data protection regulations (such as GDPR and CCPA) to protect user privacy. Copilot aligns with these standards.

WARNING: Using non-approved AI web services can expose university data to the public. See ITS Guidance on Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Administrative Purposes at Mason for more information.

Availability

This service is available 24/7, excluding planned outages, normal maintenance windows, and unavoidable events. Maintenance windows are Sundays from 7 to 11 a.m. but may be extended to 2 p.m. if needed. If maintenance is required outside of these hours, it will be announced on the Alerts & Bulletins page.

Policy

All users of the George Mason University network must adhere to University Policy Number 1301: Responsible Use of Computing.

Users are responsible for following George Mason University policies when using Microsoft Copilot and other generative AI services.

Employee Security Bulletin

This service is intended for work-related public use data only. The University Data Stewardship Policy defines data classified for public use. Users are responsible for understanding and complying with this policy. For more information about data usage and classifications, reference the following:

Retention Policy

Videos, transcriptions, or summaries will have the same retention schedules as related paper and electronic records. Retention schedules apply regardless of format, in the eyes of the Library of Virginia. For example, if a department chose to record and transcribe a prospective employee interview on Zoom, then GS-103, Series 012185 – Recruitment, Hiring, Interview and Selection Records would apply with 3-year retention after the date of the recorded video. Before deletion, the department would need to check in with the University Records Office so the upcoming destruction can be reported to the Library of Virginia just as we do with paper or electronic records. If a meeting does not fall under any of the retention schedules or is a duplicate of a master recording of a meeting that does fall under a retention schedule, then it can be destroyed when no longer administratively useful. Personal meeting notes or transcripts are not considered when referring to the retention schedules as these are not public records. For additional questions, please contact the University Records Office.

Additional Information

Join the Collaboration Collective

The Collaboration Collective is a team for George Mason’s collaboration technology users to communicate with their peers and discuss new features, best practices, and other topics of interest pertaining to the following ITS-supported collaboration tools: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Class Collaborate (formerly Blackboard Collaborate Ultra). This is not intended to replace submitting an issue via ITS Support. The Collaboration Collective is moderated by members of the George Mason community and members of ITS.

Submit an ITS support request if:

  • It is something that requires an urgent/timely ITS response
  • You are requesting information or troubleshooting assistance

Post in one of the channels if:

  • You would like to share a use case or feature you’ve found helpful
  • You would like to test out a new feature with your peers
  • You would like to know how your peers are using the tools

To become a member of the Collaboration Collective, log in to MS Teams, click Join or create a Team, and then search for Collaboration Collective or use Join a team with a code (code: pifyqb4).