ChatGPT Integrates with Microsoft Word; Free Version Available

The era of copy-pasting is coming to an end!

Previously, while writing the weekly report, I felt a certain section was too wordy.

Select, copy, switch to your browser, paste into ChatGPT, type “Help me simplify,” wait for the result, then copy it back.

When I pasted it back, the font changed and the numbering was messed up—I had to manually fix it for ages.

We may repeat actions like this dozens of times a day.

Now, this process has been eliminated.

On September 17, ChatGPT officially moved into Word.

On the right side of Word, there is an additional sidebar for chatting.

Select the paragraph you want to modify, type "Reduce to three lines, don't change the numbers," and the revised content will return to its original position—no need to adjust the font or numbering again.

The official tweet was very humblebrag: Procrastination finally met its match.

More surprisingly, there were almost no usage requirements this time.

Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans, along with all types of school accounts, are available worldwide.

You can use ChatGPT in Word for free.

This time, ChatGPT has released an official plugin that you must install yourself from the Microsoft Marketplace.

After installation, it reads the document you currently have open and can assist you with:

• Turn scattered notes into a draft: Organize your随手记 key points directly into a well-structured draft.

• Summarize long reports: Read the entire document and automatically extract conclusions and key risks.

• Revised reader targeting: The official example instruction is “Condense this section for management—do not alter the facts or defined terms.”

• Fixed the messy document formatting: headings were disorganized and numbering was broken—let it reorder everything in a second.

• Standardize terminology throughout the text: Previously referred to as "user," later as "customer," and then as "consumer"—it can generate a consolidated list to help you align them consistently.

If you're a student, it can help you read through papers, standardize terminology, and organize chapters; if you're a teacher, you can use it to revise lesson plans and streamline handouts.

If you don't understand the contract terms, simply select them to have them translated into plain language, and we’ll also suggest a few questions you should ask legal counsel.

There is also this detail in the official demo video.

Send it a message saying, “Revise the payment terms according to the negotiation record in the attachment, and enable track changes.” It won’t overwrite the original text directly; instead, it will show deletions as strikethroughs and additions in color, preserving a record of every change for you to review and accept or reject one by one.

It can also add annotations beside paragraphs to highlight unresolved items: Should the acceptance criteria be agreed upon before signing, or should they be left until after the kick-off meeting, as they are now?

The reviewer’s entire workflow can be handled for you—all you need to do is click to accept or reject each item individually.

Paid and enterprise accounts can also bring in external context: emails and files from Outlook, SharePoint, Google Workspace, and Dropbox can all be used as writing materials.

Most practically, repetitive tasks can be saved as Skills.

The instruction in the illustration below is: Use the "Contract Review" skill to highlight unresolved risks and pending items—I'm about to send it out.

Weekly memos and standardized contract reviews do not require re-explaining from scratch each time.

Among these, three accounts need to be settled in advance:

First, free users receive access, not the most powerful model.

The Free and Go plans can be used, but the default model is GPT-5.6 Luna (the fastest and lowest-cost tier); GPT-5.6 Sol is not available, and even clicking for deep thinking uses Luna.

Second, only business users can receive the actual zero-fee benefit.

From September 17 to 30, Business and Enterprise users can preview GPT-5.6 Sol in Word for free without using their normal quota.

On one end, it lowers the entry barrier to zero and brings in every worker; on the other, it places its most expensive models directly on the desks of enterprise clients. OpenAI’s strategy is clear: first get people started using it, then get companies to pay.

Third, writing reports and writing code are now competing for the same allocation.

Charges are based on tokens, following the API rate of the model you're using—the longer the document and the more back-and-forth exchanges, the faster the costs accumulate.

More importantly, it shares the same quota as advanced features like Codex. According to the official statement, using Word reduces the available quota for these features.

During the day, I made major revisions to a thirty-page proposal in Word; at night, when I opened Codex, my quota had already been significantly depleted.

The official help documentation mentions that complex formats, tables, and charts still require manual adjustment.

Additionally, three specific items were highlighted:

1. It can make mistakes: Verify important facts and figures yourself before sending; always save a copy before making major changes.

2. It only recognizes this current document. It cannot see any other files on your computer; if you want it to reference them, you must copy and paste the content into the chat box.

3. Chat history is not synchronized: Conversations within the plugin are separate from those on the ChatGPT website; memories and preferences will not carry over.

It’s more like a new colleague who works quickly: efficient in getting things done, but doesn’t know you and won’t take responsibility for the outcomes.

This time, ChatGPT didn't burst onto the scene overnight—it simply completed the final piece of the puzzle.

Excel launched in May, PowerPoint in July, and Word joined in September.

Over four months, the full set of three items has been completed. Plus, all three share the same plugin—install it once, and it works across the entire suite.

Another key milestone: Starting October 1, 2026, ChatGPT for Word will be enabled by default in workspaces.

In two weeks, it will become a standard feature in many companies' Word programs, and employees won't have to worry anymore about whether to install AI.

However, compared to OpenAI, Anthropic got there first.

Claude for Excel and PowerPoint launched in February this year, and Claude for Word entered public beta in April, completing the suite about five months ahead of OpenAI.

Its workflow is better suited for professional scenarios: every change is applied using Word’s native track changes, allowing you to accept or reject each revision just as you would review a colleague’s document, while also following comment threads to see what you changed and why.

The downside is that it only offers paid plans, with no free tier.

Microsoft itself has never left.

Copilot has long been stationed at this core platform, with highly overlapping functionality and access to the entire organization’s permission system and data.

The current Word interface is bustling with activity:

• Microsoft Copilot: Emphasizes native integration and compliance, backed by the organization's entire permission system and data;

• Anthropic (Claude for Word): Focuses on depth and control, edits content using native Word revision marks and supports line-by-line review;

• OpenAI (ChatGPT for Word): Focuses on breadth and zero barriers, opening access to all free users.

A company’s software includes models from two other companies, all of which are each other’s largest partners and competitors—an unprecedented scenario in the history of office software.

The office software landscape is being reshaped by AI.

And this time, OpenAI isn't just targeting Word.

A few days before Word launched, ChatGPT's Windows desktop version added a feature called Appshots:

No matter which software you're currently using, press both Alt keys simultaneously to send a screenshot of the active window, including all visible text and even sections not currently scrolled into view, directly to ChatGPT.

One works from within Office, the other from outside the desktop—both aim for the same thing: reducing your need to copy and paste.

Previously, when using AI to revise a passage, you’d still pause to consider: Is it worth opening a separate window just for this?

More often than not, the answer is: just forget it and make the changes yourself.

Now, AI is right beside your cursor, ready to use with just a touch.

Once the barrier to entry disappears, using AI becomes a default action, just like spell check.

The default action that major players are fiercely competing for.

The most significant change is the role of humans in writing documentation.

The handwritten portions will increasingly be handled by the sidebar.

What remains for humans is to make requests, review changes, make judgments, and ultimately decide.

In the future, when an AI sits beside every document, writing quickly will no longer be rare.

Your job is to clearly define the content direction, establish standards, oversee every revision, and ultimately take responsibility for it.

Reference materials:

https://x.com/ChatGPT/status/2100661995762798916?s=20

https://x.com/openaidevs/status/2100726653366534560

This article is from the WeChat public account "New Intelligence Yuan" (ID: AI_era), edited by Yuan Yu.