Microsoft also has built-in AI-powered editing tools for Office 365 subscribers
Microsoft Copilot is the tech giant's proprietary AI tool that works as both a chatbot and document editor. As well as chatting with Copilot online, premium users can integrate it into their offline Office documents. However, for those who want Copilot AI alternatives for MS Office that cost less, there are some free alternatives. Here are five you can install with ease.
Grammarly is available as a free download and, once installed, appears as a small marker in the bottom right corner of Office documents.
When the marker contains a red circle, click it to open the Grammarly extension.
Use the extension to work through any errors. You can click the settings button in the top right of the extension box to change your preferences, for example, language choice.
Grammarly uses AI to suggest better phrasing, detect your writing style, and make your writing more concise.
Open AI's ChatGPT is probably the best-known conversational AI model since its launch in November 2022. You can use the red Add-ins button at the top of your document to add it as an MS Word extension or click on File > Get Add-ins. If you are a Mac user, click on Insert > Get Add-ins. Search for GPT for Excel Word, although it's often listed in the Popular Add-ins list.
Click the add-in and confirm you want to install it. After a few seconds, you'll be prompted to enter your Microsoft sign-in details.
Once you've done this and accepted their privacy terms, you can ask the extension to change your writing style, fix errors, and more. Below, the user has changed the style to humorous while fixing the spelling errors.
The new text doesn't go directly into the active document. Users must copy and paste the sections they like from the extension's editor.
Formula Bot allows you to describe what Excel formulas you want and the AI figures out how to input this into Excel. The free plan allows you limited usage per month but may be useful for a single user.
Other features include asking questions about an existing data sheet, organizing data, and classifying data. Formula Bot works with both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Copilot Premium users can use their Copilot button to create presentation slides on any topic. A free alternative is Presentations.AI. You start by entering a presentation topic via the online interface and pressing the submit button.
You then need to adjust the automatically generated text ideas for each slide to match your needs.
This generates a presentation outline and options for brand colors which you can change as needed.
Click Create Presentation and view the finished results which you can edit and export. Note: Free users can only export as a PDF file, not as a fully editable PowerPoint file.
MS Word users should remember that, if they're an Office 365 member, they get access to Microsoft Editor. This AI-powered editing tool highlights spelling and grammar issues and detects the style you're writing in.
When you click on a highlighted error, e.g., spelling, it brings up the error, the correct word (or words if more than one option is possible), and options.
The options button allows you to personalize the editor to your own preferences, including ignoring uppercase words or those with numbers in.