Windows 11 Copilot Gains Free Access to GPT-5 Capabilities with Lower Rate Limits Compared to ChatGPT Free

Microsoft has enhanced its Copilot application for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 by integrating the powerful GPT-5 with a new Smart mode feature. This functionality began rolling out on August 7, and as of now, it is widely accessible across the United States and other regions.

According to tests conducted by Windows Latest, the Copilot compose box utilizes a innovative ‘web routing’ technique that allows it to swiftly identify and access the latest models available. Although Copilot is primarily a native application built using WinUI for most of its interface—except for the novel ‘Page/Canvas’ feature—the routing capability enables it to dynamically pull updates from Azure without requiring a manual app update.

For those interested, I am currently using Copilot version 1.25073.146.0, which supports the new Smart mode. A notable difference between Microsoft’s implementation and OpenAI’s services is that Microsoft Copilot offers more relaxed rate limits for its free users.

In our assessment, we found that a free ChatGPT account allows users to send up to 10 messages utilizing GPT-5 before shifting to the less robust GPT-5-mini model. For context, GPT-5 incorporates advanced reasoning capabilities, automatically directing complex queries to its ‘thinking’ function when more in-depth processing is necessary.

Free account users on ChatGPT are restricted to just one ‘thinking’ message each day. In contrast, the ChatGPT Plus subscription, priced at $20 monthly, enables users to send up to 160 messages every three hours and offers a more lenient quota of 10 reasoning messages per day, giving users the flexibility to choose between GPT-5 Thinking and the standard GPT-5 mode.

These limitations imposed by OpenAI stem from their current computational constraints, which restrict their capacity to support millions of active users. In contrast, Microsoft Copilot seems to manage these demands more effectively, as evidenced by its higher rate limits.

During our tests, we noted that it was somewhat challenging for Copilot’s GPT-5 Smart mode to signal an automatic switch to the ‘thinking’ mode. While there was no explicit notification regarding reaching the usage limits, I observed that Copilot switched to the ‘thinking’ function five times over a period of five hours.

It remains uncertain whether Copilot was engaging with GPT-5 or reverting to GPT-5-mini during these operations; however, judging by the quality of responses, it appears to predominantly utilize the more advanced GPT-5.

To evaluate Copilot’s efficacy with the GPT-5 Thinking mode, I posed ten complex programming questions related to Python case studies. Impressively, Copilot provided accurate responses each time, yet it solicited ‘GPT-5′ thinking three out of ten attempts. No limit exhaustion errors were observed, although requests for GPT-5 thinking ceased after the fifth query.

This performance is significantly superior compared to the limitations faced by free users of ChatGPT, who are allowed only one ‘thinking’ message per day.

How to Access GPT-5 in Copilot for Free

To utilize ChatGPT’s GPT-5 through Copilot at no cost, you have two entry options: visit copilot.microsoft.com in any web browser (with Microsoft Edge recommended for optimized performance), or download the Copilot app from the Microsoft Store on your device.

Upon logging into your Microsoft account, the ‘Smart’ mode should automatically activate. If you do not see this option immediately, patience is required as propagation may take some time. Even attempts like resetting the app or clearing the cache may not expedite the process, as the activation depends on server updates.

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