A Microsoft 365 subscription grants access to a variety of tools, applications, cloud services, and security enhancements that many users might not even realize they have. How much you can use depends on your subscription type. This overview excludes features exclusive to Business or Enterprise plans, focusing instead on those available with Personal subscriptions. Family plans may restrict some features to the primary account holder, while student and educational plans might have additional limitations based on their setup.
Whether you need to use these features right now depends largely on your goals. Still, many of them are enjoyable to try out and good to know about. Next time you need to remove a background from an image or add the name of Madagascar’s national anthem to an Excel spreadsheet, you’ll know you already have the tools to do so.
Copilot
Microsoft’s generative AI, Copilot, is far from hidden—Microsoft is actively promoting it. You can even access the Copilot chatbot without a Microsoft 365 subscription for quick AI-assisted questions. But with a subscription, Copilot integrates directly into key applications. It can draft, rewrite, and summarize documents in Word; analyze data, create charts, and generate formulas in Excel; draft emails, summarize threads, and suggest replies in Outlook; and even handle entire presentation creation in PowerPoint with just a prompt. Some features consume AI credits, which refresh monthly, and you can track your balance on your Microsoft account page.
Copilot’s integration can be a mixed experience—it ranges from invaluable to intrusive. Even as a pro-AI user, I found some features overwhelming. Since AI functionality is now deeply embedded in Microsoft apps, you can disable Copilot via the Options menu in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook if you prefer. However, opting out won’t reduce your subscription cost.
OneDrive
With Microsoft 365, you upgrade from a mere 5GB of free cloud storage to a generous 1TB on OneDrive—a compelling reason to pay for the subscription. OneDrive also offers handy features like file version history, letting you restore previous versions, and the Personal Vault for extra-security storage using fingerprint, face recognition, or PIN authentication. Free accounts limit Personal Vault storage to three files, but with 365, you can protect unlimited files.
OneDrive also includes Copilot capabilities. Selecting a file allows asking questions related to its content, such as summarizing documents, generating FAQs, or extracting details like the highest invoice item. It supports Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDFs. Interestingly, Copilot’s responses sometimes extend beyond the selected document, pulling information from the internet, which can be helpful or require clarification if you want to restrict it to file content only.
Microsoft Clipchamp
Clipchamp, Microsoft’s video editing app, might be a surprise find, as it’s often pre-installed. You can also access it via browser. While a free version exists, the Microsoft 365 subscription unlocks benefits like 4K video exports, a larger stock content library, and enhanced filters. For frequent video creators, Clipchamp offers a simple, ready-to-use alternative; for beginners like me, it’s easy to learn with drag-and-drop functionality. You can create videos from stock footage, music, and text-to-speech without needing to record anything yourself.
The editor allows layering images, audio, and text, with fine controls for volume, speed, fades, and noise suppression. Content is royalty-free for commercial or personal use, and your projects are automatically backed up to OneDrive. Advanced users might find it less powerful than professional software like Adobe Premiere, but for social media content, it’s more than sufficient.
Excel Data Types
Excel’s Data Types feature lets you pull near real-time data on stocks, currencies, or geographical info directly into your spreadsheet. By entering a company name, currency code, or place, then selecting the matching data type from the toolbar, you can insert dynamic info fields like stock prices, population, or carbon emissions. Cells display an icon to show the data type, such as a map for geography or a building for stocks.
Clicking the “Insert Data” icon lets you add specific data fields or view a data card for reference. For example, New York City’s data options include latitude, longitude, and time zone, while the U.S. features options like official language and national anthem. Stock prices update dynamically but may lag by 15-30 minutes for non-U.S. exchanges.
Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms, included with your subscription, is an intuitive survey and quiz creator. You can choose from quizzes, forms, or invitations and customize response types like multiple choice or text boxes. The branching feature allows conditional questions based on prior answers. You can add images, colors, videos, and even optional music to your form, with controls to disable audio if desired.
Forms integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft apps—you can import quiz questions from numbered lists in Word or embed forms in PowerPoint for live audience interactions via QR code. You can create up to 400 surveys or quizzes with a maximum of 200 questions each, accommodating up to 5 million responses per form.
Microsoft Designer
At first glance, Microsoft Designer appears similar to other design tools like Canva, but it functions mainly as an AI image generator with some editing features. You can create images by describing them through AI or upload pictures for edits like background removal, blurring, or adding AI-generated stickers.
Starting from a blank canvas is less intuitive, with hidden options for photo uploads and occasional bugs. Still, Designer offers a good introduction to AI-driven design, especially if you want quick, AI-created visuals.
Microsoft Access
Though less prominent today, Microsoft Access remains part of the Office 365 suite. It’s ideal for users who find spreadsheets too limited when managing interconnected data sets, such as multiple lists for community events, members, and equipment. Access helps you organize and link data cleanly without constant manual updates.
Its reporting tools produce easy-to-understand summaries, and it offers validation and query customization. Unlike other Office apps, Access has yet to integrate Copilot AI but remains a powerful tool for relational database management.
Focus and Accessibility in Word
Microsoft Word includes underrated features that enhance focus and accessibility. Focus mode hides toolbars and distractions, helping you concentrate on writing. However, Copilot’s icon remains visible during Focus mode, offering AI assistance like a modern Clippy.
For accessibility, Word’s AI can read documents aloud or transcribe speech via the microphone icon. There’s also an option in the Accessibility settings to provide sound feedback for actions like pasting text or spell correction, adding subtle but helpful audio cues. A fun hidden feature is typing =rand() for instant filler text, with alternatives =rand.old() and =lorem() for different outputs.
