Microsoft says OpenAI’s ChatGPT isn’t “better” than Copilot; you just aren’t using it right, but Copilot Academy is here to help

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What you need to know

  • Microsoft expands Copilot Academy beyond companies with a paid Viva Learning or Viva Suite license and will now be included in the Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
  • A separate report indicated that the top complaint at Microsoft about Copilot AI was that “it doesn’t seem to work as well as ChatGPT.”
  • Microsoft narrowed down the disparity to a lack of proper prompt engineering practices.

As a tech enthusiast who has been following the AI revolution closely, I must admit that I’ve found myself leaning more towards OpenAI’s ChatGPT over Microsoft’s Copilot AI. My personal preference isn’t just based on the user experience or capabilities, but also on the sheer number of users and the hype surrounding it.

In recent times, there has been significant progress in generative AI technology, resulting in numerous chatbots being developed by various companies such as Microsoft’s Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude AI, and others. Among these, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s offering have gained the most popularity among users. Interestingly, there has been a growing preference for OpenAI’s mobile version, particularly since the launch of GPT-4o, which has resulted in an unprecedented surge in revenue and downloads on mobile devices.

Frequently, enthusiastic users of AI technologies praise ChatGPT for its superior user interface and capabilities compared to Microsoft’s Copilot AI. Interestingly, both chatbots are built using technology from OpenAI. Notably, a recent report highlighted that the main criticism leveled against Copilot AI by Microsoft users is that it “doesn’t perform as effectively as ChatGPT.

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It appears that ChatGPT has had more time to grow and currently serves over 200 million weekly active users, whereas a study by Appfigures suggests Microsoft’s lackluster marketing efforts and discreet launch of the Copilot app on mobile devices may have hindered its visibility in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Microsoft chose to slow down the release of new Copilot features in order to refine and boost the current ones instead. During their special event, they unveiled upcoming Copilot experiences such as Copilot Pages and Copilot agents.

We aren’t “using Copilot as intended,” but Copilot Academy is here to help

The report revealed an issue where inadequate prompt engineering techniques hinder users from fully utilizing Copilot. A Microsoft representative suggested that the quality of Copilot’s responses is influenced by how the prompt or question is presented. At that point, Microsoft was using instructional videos to help users enhance their skills in crafting prompts for better results.

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Now, Microsoft is taking it up a level with the introduction of Copilot Academy. Essentially, this is an educational platform aimed at teaching businesses optimal methods for utilizing the tool effectively and interacting with it appropriately.

In April, Microsoft introduced Copilot Academy, initially accessible only through a subscription to Viva Learning or Viva Suite at a cost. Now, this program has been expanded to cater to a larger group, allowing businesses that have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to participate as well.

The Copilot Academy ships with a ton of features, including:

  • Academy content updates and refinement: We continually assess the value and impact of individual courses. We will periodically add new content as it becomes available, and are always working to ensure the materials provided are helpful and of the highest quality.
  • Copilot Academy nudges (2024 Q4): these Teams notification nudges will encourage new users to try Copilot Academy and keep existing users in the loop for new Copilot Academy updates on a monthly basis.

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2024-09-18 13:09