Microsoft now offers unlimited Copilot Voice and Think Deeper functionality for free users. These advanced features were already available to non-paying users, but they were bound by daily usage limits.

As you might assume, Voice Mode allows you to communicate with Copilot through spoken language. You can access Voice Mode by pressing the microphone button on the right-hand side of the Copilot prompt window. It features four different pre-set voices, plus a dreamy animation of some water when accessed from a desktop browser.

Copilot Think Deeper is an implementation of OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model. It’s a chatbot that “thinks” through its responses, effectively vetting itself for misinformation, hallucinations, or generally poor responses. To use Think Deeper, just press the big “Think Deeper” button in the Copilot prompt window—it’s right next to the microphone button.

OpenAI charges its customers for the o1 model, so unlimited free access in Copilot is a pretty big deal. The same is true of ChatGPT Voice Mode, which free users may only access in a limited capacity. However, Microsoft notes that free Copilot accounts may experience delays or interruptions during peak usage hours (you may also have trouble logging in while people are clamoring to test Think Deeper—it took Microsoft 20 minutes to send me a 2FA code). Those who pay $20 a month for Copilot Pro receive priority access to all functionality and should not experience delays except under extreme or unusual circumstances.

I should also clarify that unlimited Voice Mode and Think Deeper utilization requires a Microsoft login. If you hit a rate limit, log in to an account.

“Copilot users have spoken! We’ve seen incredible growth for Voice and Think Deeper, and have more and more people telling us they’ve hit those usage limits. Sooo…we’re getting rid of them.” – Mustafa Suleyman, CEO, Microsoft AI

In my testing, Copilot’s Think Deeper mode provided more accurate and thorough responses than the standard Copilot chatbot mode. It’s clear that OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model, which was rushed to the public after DeepSeek rocked the world in January, is good at refining and conveying information. It ain’t perfect, and it will occasionally serve misinformation or hallucinations, but it’s a nice tool for researching or brainstorming.

Copilot Voice Mode is a different, more niche tool. If you just want to have a friendly conversation with a robot, hold a mock interview, or practice a foreign language, Voice Mode does the trick. But it can’t facilitate intense research or analysis. Its responses are truncated for brevity, which naturally limits its usefulness in these areas. And, more importantly, humans aren’t very good at spitting out pitch-perfect AI prompts. Maybe this is a me problem, but I can’t speak a good prompt on the fly, especially when dealing with topics that I’m not very knowledgable in. Voice mode also feels unforgiving at times, as a short pause in your speech can be interpreted as “okay, Copilot, give me a response.”

To Microsoft’s credit, Copilot Voice Mode is shockingly fast and articulate. And the company makes no scruples about its utility—in its most recent blog post, Microsoft suggests that people use Voice Mode as a linguistic volley-ball and makes no mention of research or other functions that we more commonly associate with chatbots. It’s an interesting product, but it doesn’t have much utility for me, although I guess that I could use it to practice spoken-word prompt engineering.

Fire up Copilot and log into your account to test unlimited-access Voice Mode or Think Deeper. Again, Microsoft says that you may experience delays or interruptions during peak usage. If Copilot feels slow, give it a few hours and try again.

Source: Microsoft