Chapter 1
The Microsoft Copilots – Kickoff Edition
Preview published June 18, 2025
Summary
Introduces the book's scope and audience, defines what a Microsoft Copilot is (the "UI for AI"), explains the role of large language models behind it, and previews how Copilots are changing work along with the early growing pains of AI.
Additional explanation
Key terms from this chapter: Copilot, large language model (LLM), artificial intelligence (AI), agentic application.
A Copilot is best thought of as the part of an AI solution you see and interact with, while large data stores and an LLM do the work behind the scenes. The chapter asks readers to keep both the benefits and the failure modes of these systems in view.