Here’s what makes this offering from Microsoft different from other options like ChatGPT or Google Bard.
Microsoft included Copilot with Commercial Data Protection with our FAU Microsoft licenses. (You must be signed in with your FAU account to use this protected version) This means cost savings to the University instead of paying for individual ChatGPT Plus licenses.
Aside from cost, the key differentiator is that Microsoft Copilot with Commercial Data Protection is a more secure alternative to consumer-oriented generative AI services, including the non-enterprise version of Copilot. Currently, ChatGPT-4 powers Microsoft Copilot.
- Copilot protects your identity. Microsoft uses your identity only to determine if you are eligible to access the tool. Copilot with Data Protection cannot access your Microsoft 365 files.
- Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection does not save your chat history. By comparison, ChatGPT and Google Bard do save your history. A saved chat history hurts your privacy, but it does add convenience if you need to revisit queries. If you want to save your conversation with Copilot, you can export the conversation or copy and paste it into a document.
- Microsoft cannot see your chats and does not use your chat data for training. Both Bard and ChatGPT use your chats to train future LLM models.
- Be mindful of the data you send: While Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection is a more secure alternative to ChatGPT or other LLMs, it cannot be used for all University data. Do not use AI tools for protected health information (PHI), or data subject to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), FERPA or other highly sensitive data