At present Microsoft 365 Copilot is available to most users on campus through your Davidson Microsoft account. Before you rely on it, one thing to know: While Copilot is currently available, it is not T&I's officially supported AI tool. For day-to-day AI use, T&I recommends Google Gemini.
Getting Started with Google Gemini
Why Copilot is on, but not supported
Microsoft enabled Copilot across all customers before offering ways to limit it, and many people at Davidson had already built its features into their work by the time those controls existed. Rather than disrupt that usage, T&I has chosen to leave Copilot on. It remains available, but Google Gemini is our supported everyday AI tool.
Most Copilot use on campus runs through the features built into Outlook — email drafting, search, and thread summaries.
In practical terms:
- T&I does not provide training or help-desk support for Copilot or its features.
- Copilot's features may change without notice, and access may not continue long term.
- Don't build mission-critical workflows that depend on Copilot. If a process matters enough that it has to keep working, it shouldn't depend on Copilot.. Use Copilot only for everyday, low-stakes tasks.
What to use instead
Google Gemini is our supported AI tool, provided to all employees and students through our existing Google Workspace licensing. If you want to use AI in your work, start there.
If you're thinking about integrating AI more deeply into a workflow, please let T&I know. T&I technical teams can help you pinpoint the right tool and help you set it up to last.
A few things worth knowing
What Copilot does and how your data is handled
Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant, built into the Microsoft 365 apps you already use. It can draft and summarize text, answer questions, and work through documents with you. Because it signs in with your Davidson account, it can also work with your Davidson email and files.
When you're signed in with your Davidson account, Copilot uses the same enterprise data protections as the rest of our Microsoft 365 suite, and your prompts and Copilot's responses are not used to train Microsoft's AI models. Confirm you're signed in with your Davidson account, not a personal Microsoft account, before working with any college information.