Microsoft offers free access to OpenAI's GPT-5 with Copilot platforms

With GPT-5 integration, Microsoft Copilot gets smarter across platforms, offering better coding help, document analysis, and context-aware responses in chat

Microsoft has announced the integration of OpenAI’s latest GPT-5 model into its Copilot platform. The AI model is now rolling out across Copilot for consumers, Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprises, GitHub Copilot, and Azure AI Foundry for developers. According to Microsoft, GPT-5 brings enhanced reasoning capabilities and significant improvements in coding and chat experiences across its platforms.

OpenAI GPT-5: What is new

OpenAI describes GPT-5 as its most advanced AI model yet, offering improved performance across coding, writing, health, and more. It adapts response styles based on context — responding quickly when appropriate, or taking more time for in-depth queries.

The model unifies previous versions into a single auto-switching system and is said to reduce hallucinations while following instructions more accurately. In coding, it’s better at generating visually appealing apps and websites from a single prompt. For writing, it handles complex formats like free verse with greater balance and clarity. In health, it acts more like a collaborative partner — asking follow-ups and flagging concerns to offer more useful and nuanced responses.

GPT-5 in Copilot: What is new

Microsoft Copilot:

Microsoft has added GPT-5 to its Copilot AI assistant, including for free-tier users. The new Smart mode leverages GPT-5 to help users to get more accurate and context-aware responses. The model is now live across the web version of Copilot, as well as the Copilot app on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot:

Enterprise users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses now have access to GPT-5. The model enables reasoning over emails, documents, and files using more advanced AI capabilities. GPT-5 is also being rolled out to Microsoft Copilot Studio, which lets users build and customise AI-powered agents.

GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code:

GPT-5 is now available across all paid GitHub Copilot plans. Developers can use the model in GitHub Copilot Chat on github.com, Visual Studio Code, and GitHub Mobile via the model picker. Through the Azure AI Foundry extension, developers in VS Code can also use GPT-5 to develop agents — without leaving the code editor.

Azure AI Foundry:

Microsoft is making all GPT-5 models available through Azure AI Foundry. Developers can use the model router to access the full GPT-5 system and other models within the Foundry environment. This includes GPT-5, GPT-5 mini, GPT-5 nano, and GPT-5 chat variants, each optimized for different task types like deep reasoning or ultra-low-latency responses. The model router intelligently selects the optimal GPT-5 variant based on the complexity, performance needs, and cost efficiency of each task.