How do I cite Microsoft Copilot in Harvard?

To cite Microsoft Copilot in Harvard (Cite Them Right), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.

What is the Harvard format for Microsoft Copilot citation?

The Harvard format for Microsoft Copilot is: Microsoft Copilot (Year) Microsoft Copilot response to Your Name, Day Month.

What does the in-text citation look like for Microsoft Copilot in Harvard?

In Harvard, the in-text citation for the example above is (Microsoft Copilot, 2026)

How to Cite Microsoft Copilot in Harvard (Cite Them Right)

Learn how to cite Microsoft Copilot chats and AI answers in Harvard format (Cite Them Right). This guide includes the reference list format, in-text citation examples, and key formatting rules.

Harvard Reference List Format

Here is the standard Harvard format for citing Microsoft Copilot in your reference list:

Microsoft Copilot (Year) Microsoft Copilot response to Your Name, Day Month.

Harvard Example for Microsoft Copilot

A complete Harvard reference for Microsoft Copilot, written by hand and checked against the official Harvard guidance for this source:

Microsoft Copilot (2026) Microsoft Copilot response to Jane Smith, 14 March.

Matching in-text citation: When asked to explain the difference between weather and climate, Copilot (Microsoft Copilot, 2026) gave the two-sentence answer reproduced in Appendix 1.

Harvard In-Text Citation

Use one of these formats when referencing this source within your paper:

Parenthetical

(Microsoft Copilot, 2026)

Narrative

Microsoft Copilot (2026) gave the two-sentence explanation quoted below.

Key Harvard Formatting Rules

Cite Them Right treats AI output only you can see as a personal communication: name of AI, year, the response and who prompted it, then the day and month.
Write your own name as the receiver, because you are the person who prompted Copilot.
Add Available at: and an accessed date only if Copilot gives you a public share link that readers can open.
Put the prompt and Copilot’s full answer in an appendix, and reference the web pages it linked in their own Cite Them Right format when you use their content.

Step-by-Step Guide

Gather source information: Collect the author name, title, publication date, and URL or DOI for your Microsoft Copilot.
Format the reference: Arrange the elements following the Harvard (Cite Them Right) template shown above.
Create the in-text citation: Add a parenthetical or narrative citation in your paper where you reference this source.
Add to your reference list: Include the full formatted citation at the end of your paper.
Double-check formatting: Verify italics, punctuation, capitalization, and hanging indents match Harvard requirements.

Evidence and review notes

Worked examples on this page are written by hand from the style's own published guidance and checked against it, because the general CSL styles do not encode this source's rules. Editorial guidance and sources in this section were reviewed on 2026-08-14.

Metadata to collect

the company that built the tool (Microsoft)
where you used Copilot (the Copilot app or site, Edge, Word, or another Microsoft 365 app)
the date of the conversation
the exact prompt you typed
the web pages Copilot linked in its answer
a public share link, if your version of Copilot offers one

Common metadata traps

Microsoft Copilot, the chat assistant, is not GitHub Copilot; code suggestions from GitHub Copilot are cited, if at all, as software or disclosed in your methods.
Copilot answers often point to Bing web results, so open each linked page, check it, and cite the page itself for any fact you use.
Copilot inside Word, Outlook, or Edge used to polish your own writing counts as AI built into ordinary software under APA’s Part 2 post: disclose it rather than writing a chat reference.

Editorial sources

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite Microsoft Copilot in Harvard?: To cite Microsoft Copilot in Harvard (Cite Them Right), include the author, title, date, and source location. Use our free citation generator for automatic formatting.
What is the Harvard format for Microsoft Copilot citation?: The Harvard format for Microsoft Copilot is: Microsoft Copilot (Year) Microsoft Copilot response to Your Name, Day Month.
What does the in-text citation look like for Microsoft Copilot in Harvard?: In Harvard, the in-text citation for the example above is (Microsoft Copilot, 2026)