How to enable new Copilot on Microsoft Word (preview)

Yes, it's possible to enable the Copilot AI on Microsoft Word, and in this guide, you will learn how.

Avatar for Mauro Huculak
@Pureinfotech
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Microsoft Word enable Copilot
Microsoft Word enable Copilot
  • Update 1/15/2024: Copilot Pro for Word is now available as an addon paid subscription for those already paying for a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.
  • It’s cost $20, and you should be able to get it soon from this Microsoft website.
  • If you don’t have a pro subscription, you won’t be able to access the chatbot in the Office (Microsoft 365) apps.

On Microsoft Word, you can enable an early preview of Copilot, and in this guide, you will learn how. Copilot is the new chatbot powered by AI technology designed for Office apps and other Microsoft products. The experience is similar to Bing Chat, but this one is tailored to work tasks, helping users be more productive and use their time more efficiently.

The Copilot features will depend on the application. In the case of Word, you can ask the chatbot to create content for a document on a specific topic or based on data available in another document.

Although it’s unclear when Copilot will roll out to everyone, XenoPanther on Twitter has spotted an early preview of the feature hidden in Microsoft Word Preview 16.0.16325.2000, which you can enable through the Registry. Copilot can also be enabled for Excel and OneNote.

Warning: It’s crucial to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and created a full backup of your system before proceeding. Also, since this feature is still under development, the steps below may or may not work for everyone. You have been warned. Furthermore, you have to be running the “16.0.16325.2000” version (or higher) of Word for the steps to work. As of the time of this writing, it has been pointed out in the comments that Microsoft has rolled back the latest builds of Office. As such, it may take some time before you can enable the feature.

Enable Copilot in Microsoft Word 

To enable the Copilot AI chatbot in Word, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.

  2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

  3. Navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentConfigs\ExternalFeatureOverrides\word

  4. Right-click the Word key, select the New menu, and select the String Value option.

    Microsoft.Office.Word.CoPilotExperiment

  5. Name the key Microsoft.Office.Word.CoPilotExperiment and press Enter.

  6. Double-click the newly created key and set its value to true to enable Copilot.

    Microsoft Word enable Copilot

  7. Click the OK button.

  8. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, launch or re-open Microsoft Word (version 16.0.16325.2000), and the Copilot experience should appear on the right side.

In the case that you want to revert the changes, you can use the same instructions outlined above, but on step 4, right-click and delete the Microsoft.Office.Word.CoPilotExperiment string inside the “Word” key.

If you are not using version 16.0.16325.2000 or higher release of the word processing app, you will have to enroll your Office installation to the Insider program. This process requires a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscription.

To enroll in the Microsoft 365 Insider program, open Microsoft Word and navigate to File > Account, click the “Office Insider” menu, choose the “Join Office Insider” option, select the “Beta Channel” option, and click the “OK” button. After the enrollment, close the Office applications, open Word, and from the “Account” page, check for updates to make you have the latest preview version.

Update March 5, 2023: Although it’s unlikely that the feature will enable with a version lower than 16.0.16325.2000, I’ve been following some reports (and some successes) that suggest that the device also needs to be in the “DogFood” channel for Office to enable the Copilot feature. I haven’t tried this, but if you want to do this, you have to update a few keys on the "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\Configuration" Registry. For example, you have to update the “AudienceData” value to “Dogfood::DevMain,” “CDNBaseURL” and “UpdateChannel” to “http://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/ea4a4090-de26-49d7-93c1-91bff9e53fc3”. However, some users have also reported that they were able to enable the feature without adding these Registry modifications.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.