US college students can get 3 months of Microsoft Copilot AI free — here’s how

This offer includes full Copilot integration in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, plus 1 TB of OneDrive storage and Microsoft Defender (available in the U.S. only). Microsoft also guarantees that student data will not be used to train AI models.

Why it matters

With ChatGPT, Google Gemini and other rivals targeting students, Microsoft is betting that free access will hook users early.

For cash-strapped students, it’s a way to test AI-powered tools for research, writing, budget tracking and more within apps they are familiar with and already use.

How to get the deal

Students hoping to jump on this deal must verify their enrollment with a valid U.S. college email or student ID.

For now, the offer is limited to new users enrolled at Title IV-accredited U.S. colleges or universities and excludes current subscribers to the Microsoft 365 Personal student offer. In other words, this is for new users only.

Once verified, sign up through the Microsoft 365 Student portal (payment method required) to activate your three-month trial.

After that, Copilot renews automatically at $4.99 per month. You'll want to send a reminder in ChatGPT Tasks or another platform if you plan to cancel.

Copilot prompts to try first

Word prompt: “Summarize this document in 3 bullet points.”

This one is useful for study notes or quick reviews.

Excel prompt: “Analyze this data and suggest 3 key insights.”

This is supportive for students looking to spot trends or prepare reports.

OneNote prompt: “Summarize this lecture note as a study guide.”

Students with long notes may find this especially useful when reviewing materials for exams or presentations.

Outlook prompt: “Draft a polite email to my professor asking for an extension.”

Common academic or professional requests are done efficiently with this particular prompt.

PowerPoint prompt: “Create a 5-slide presentation from this article.”

This prompt saves a ton of time turning content into slides for presentation decks or for studying.

What’s the catch?

This offer is US-only; international students can get the 50% discount but won’t receive the free trial.

There’s also no permanent free tier. Unlike ChatGPT and even Gemini, Copilot requires a subscription after the trial ends.

Finally, Copilot works best on a desktop. Some features are limited or unavailable on mobile.

Should you keep it after the trial?

Pros: Copilot saves time on research, citations and document formatting. It’s also cheaper than ChatGPT Plus ($4.99 per month vs. $20 per month) and fully integrated with Microsoft 365 apps you likely already use.

Cons: It doesn’t offer advanced coding tools like GitHub Copilot, and it has fewer offline capabilities compared to some of Google’s AI tools.

If you rely on Word and Excel, this trial is a no-brainer. More casual users may find that free options, such as ChatGPT 3.5 or Gemini, are sufficient for their needs.

This student deal signals a broader AI-in-education arms race, so we can expect to see more offers from rivals soon.

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