7 ms·

Microsoft: Copilot is for entertainment purposes only

606 points by lpcvoid 6mo ago

Handy-Man 6mo ago
Seems fine to me for the consumer facing product terms lol
jeffwask 6mo ago
I can hear the lawyers huddled around a conference table rolling the bones and chanting the sacred words to come up with that "get out of trouble free" card. It told your son he had terminal cancer and should kill himself... sorry, it clearly says for Entertainment Purposes only.
- argee 6mo ago
  "Are you not entertained?"
  - razingeden 6mo ago
    I , for one. am extremely entertained by this.
Simulacra 6mo ago
If it's for entertainment purposes only then why is it being shoved down our throats at every opportunity???
- ranger_danger 6mo ago
  Mandatory Fun (TM)
- sheikhnbake 6mo ago
  ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
  - kotaru 6mo ago
    I legit laughed for couple minutes, thank you for this comment.
- boothby 6mo ago
  It's not for your entertainment, silly, it's for theirs.
ortusdux 6mo ago
It worked for Fox News
- ranger_danger 6mo ago
  I think it's a little more nuanced than that. https://www.allsides.com/news/2022-02-08-0800/media-industry-fact-checking-claim-fox-news-says-its-programming-entertainment-not-news https://www.allsides.com/news/2022-02-08-0800/media-industry... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-news-entertainment-switch/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-news-entertainment-swi...
ar0 6mo ago
To be clear this is only for the standalone Copilot chat or app and website; not for the “Copilot” services integrated into Office 365 etc.
- sgbeal 6mo ago
  > To be clear this is only for the standalone Copilot chat or app and website; not for the “Copilot” services integrated into Office 365 etc. The section titled "WHEN & WHERE THESE TERMS APPLY" includes: > Conversations you have with Copilot through other Microsoft apps and websites
  - rdsubhas 6mo ago
    Would be nice to know if it includes Github Copilot. I can't understand how to interpret "Copilot branded apps".
    - sgbeal 6mo ago
      It says "through other Microsoft apps and websites," i.e. they reserve the right to include or remove it when and where they like throughout their whole product line (which includes github, of course), as well as: - Conversations you have with Copilot through third-party apps and platforms - Other Copilot-branded apps and services that link to these Terms That first point (#4 in the original list) can cover all software, Copilot-branded or otherwise, which, even internally, uses Copilot (perhaps without your knowing so). Github Copilot (to take your specific example) is both "other Microsoft apps and websites" and "Copilot-branded". So, yeah, those ToS undoubtedly apply to Github Copilot.
wxw 6mo ago
> Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk. > We don’t own Your Content, but we may use Your Content to operate Copilot and improve it. By using Copilot, you grant us permission to use Your Content, which means we can copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, translate, and reformat it, and we can give those same rights to others who work on our behalf. lol
- Junk_Collector 6mo ago
  This is as good as when the engineer from the Claude team said they load their website in such a way as to protect against hostile actions such as scraping.
ratelimitsteve 6mo ago
i like the way that when ai does something good of course the people who built it should make a lot of money but when it does something bad no one is responsible
- bradleyankrom 6mo ago
  Lots of that going around these days (and for many of the previous days, at least in the US)
maieuticagent 6mo ago
They're just trying to pick up that Disney deal (Clippy rhymes with Mickey)
everdrive 6mo ago
Lawyers are playing Calvinball again. I have no idea why the law finds this kind of argumentation compelling. "I clearly intentionally deceived, but I stashed some bullshit legalese into a document no one will read so my deception is completely OK."
- torginus 6mo ago
  My two cents is that if it didn't, 'I didn't know that was illegal/breach of contract' would be a valid legal defense. Although intentionally saying things that contradict whats in the contract might be legally objectionable.
  - marcosdumay 6mo ago
    When the contract is purposefully obtuse and hard to understand, that should be a valid legal defense. When it's huge, falls upon people that can't justify a lawyer, and keeps changing all the time, one shouldn't even need to claim it. It should be automatically invalid.
    - voxic11 6mo ago
      > Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk. Seems pretty clear to me, do you really think people need a lawyer to understand that?
      - lazide 6mo ago
        If it’s in a locked cabinet in the downstairs bathroom with the ‘out of order’ sign on the door, guarded by a leopard?
        recursive 6mo ago
        A disused lavatory?
monegator 6mo ago
> Copilot may include advertising
sgbeal 6mo ago
The section titled > IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES & WARNINGS Tells us: > You may stop using Copilot at any time. That's an odd thing to include in a ToS.
- throwa356262 6mo ago
  I am working really hard to not start using Copilot. And belive me, if you use any Microsoft products or services they really make it hard to avoid accidentally using the damn thing. Including adding it to your office plan and then charging you 2x.
  - Junk_Collector 6mo ago
    Gotta love how they moved the "Create Email/meeting" buttons in Outlook mobile and stuck the Copilot button there so that you will hit it accidentally.
  - qubex 6mo ago
    I’m a Mac user and the only way to get Office 365 is a monthly subscription. Since there’s no subscription that doesn’t include CoPilot and since they hiked the price with the excuse that they’d added this thing I didn’t want, I just cancelled my subscription. A customer lost: hardly an issue, but if enough people do it, maybe they’ll get a clue and stop ramming this unwelcome abomination down our throats.
    - p_ing 6mo ago
      You can buy a perpetual Mac Office 2024, if you want.
  - NetMageSCW 6mo ago
    I’ve only used it once, for WorkFlow creation but it seemed really useful there, but that may be more of an indictment of WorkFlow than an endorsement of CoPilot.
- xnorswap 6mo ago
  I doubt it is odd, I suspect almost every ToS has something similar.
giancarlostoro 6mo ago
How does this affect Copilot in VS 2022 / VS 2026? Because this is kind of insulting to a professional. I really wish Microsoft would learn to name things correctly. There's Copilot the ChatGPT-like service, then there's Copilot for Visual Studio which is not the same as far as I can tell.
- adambb 6mo ago
  https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/responsible-use/chat-in-your-ide https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/responsible-use/chat-in-y... They do seem to word this at a more professional level in this context (the terms linked are for individuals using Copilot in Windows, probably?)
nerdjon 6mo ago
Can I get this on a sticker to pass out anyone tries to shove copilot down my throat at work? Maybe a shirt, could sell it on the Microsoft store even. Now that would be entertainment.
yoyohello13 6mo ago
I've been reading Jurassic Park recently. Hammond's monologue about expensive technology only being fundable via Entertainment seems very relevant.
Raed667 6mo ago
a blanket "entertainment only" disclaimer likely wouldn't survive scrutiny for a product actively/relentlessly marketed as a productivity tool
- varispeed 6mo ago
  depends how much judges are interested in bling.
staticautomatic 6mo ago
Guys they're just disclaiming warranties relax
LurkandComment 6mo ago
I thought a year ago when I bought a new laptop with 365 and Copilot integrated that they would make better use of AI and its integration. I can't think of when I actually used it and cancelled any subscription associated with it. On the otherhand, I use ChatGPT all the time.
ashleyn 6mo ago
Ah yes, the new "for tobacco use only" of tech.
jrochkind1 6mo ago
No way that holds up in court when they are marketing it for things other than entertainment.
anthk 6mo ago
I told you so, dear LLM evangelists.
- tempodox 6mo ago
  But they know better. They probably asked an LLM.
j45 6mo ago
Non-exact software will be causing sleepless nights for non-exact legal writers.
tech_ken 6mo ago
Another bingo square for that 'AI is gambling' post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47428541 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47428541)
anshumankmr 6mo ago
If it is for entertainment purposes only, why am I not laughing when I use it?
- pwdisswordfishy 6mo ago
  You need a better sense of humour apparently.
- SoftTalker 6mo ago
  Some people find being whipped while bound in leather to be entertaining.
  - cindyllm 6mo ago
    [dead]
- noisy_boy 6mo ago
  They didn't say whose entertainment. It certainly isn't yours. Meanwhile they are laughing their way to the bank.
wowoc 6mo ago
Anthropic does a somewhat similar thing. If you visit their ToS (the one for Max/Pro plans) from a European IP address, they replace one section with this: Non-commercial use only. You agree not to use our Services for any commercial or business purposes and we (and our Providers) have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity. It's funny that a plan called "Pro" cannot be used professionally. https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- giobox 6mo ago
  Ha out of curiosity I loaded that same consumer terms URL on both a USA and a UK VPN exit node - sure enough, the UK terms inject that extra clause you quoted banning commercial usage that is not present for USA users. diff of the changes between US and UK: https://www.diffchecker.com/BtqVrR9p/ https://www.diffchecker.com/BtqVrR9p/ There's the usual expected legal boilerplate differences. However, the UK version injects the additional clause at line 134 that has no analog in the US version.
  - graemep 6mo ago
    In the Uk there seem to be separate commercial and consumer terms. In the UK the consumer terms say its subject to English law and the courts of the UK jurisdiction you live in. The commercial terms say that in the UK, Switzerland and the EEA there will be binding arbitration by an arbitrator in Ireland appointed by the President of the Law Society of Ireland.
    - giobox 6mo ago
      The UK commercial terms explicitly do not apply to individual user plans. The US also has a separate terms sheet for commercial plans. We are comparing like for like - an individual user using a Claude Pro subscription. A US user can use it for commercial use and be in compliance with the terms, the UK user cannot.
_trampeltier 6mo ago
Just today afternoon, I did read a bit trough Adobes EULA and I saw most of Adobes Software is not allowed to be used from children. I guess most (todays) software are not allowed for children because of the whole user tracking and spying.
- mghackerlady 6mo ago
  It could also be that minors aren't allowed to sign contracts, which a EULA could maybe be considered (I'm not a lawyer)
classified 6mo ago
So they finally admit that it's just a toy? Where does that leave all the mega-"productive" developers?
caycep 6mo ago
I should ask it to produce an image of Satya Nadella in Maximus garb yelling "are you not entertained?!"
- soupfordummies 6mo ago
  [dead]
soupfordummies 6mo ago
Worth noting that this is in the terms of use as of October 2025. This isn't "new".
jmugan 6mo ago
I thought the title was a joke until I actually read the thing.
nunez 6mo ago
FYI: This is only for the "Cortana replacement" Copilot, not the other Copilots. This language doesn't appear in GitHub Copilot's Consumer Agreement, for example.
- therein 6mo ago
  Maybe they shouldn't name everything Copilot.
  - javadocmd 6mo ago
    Copilot copilot Copilot copilot copilot copilot Copilot copilot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffal...
  - aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
    In the past, Microsoft named everything ".NET" [1] or "Windows Live" [2]. And before naming everything "Copilot", Microsoft named everything "Microsoft 365" [3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET_strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET_strategy [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_365 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_365
    - brookst 6mo ago
      I'm old enough to remember when everything was "Active". Active Directory, ActiveX, etc.
      - aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
        Now that you mention it: in addition to your mentioned Active Directory and ActiveX: - (Microsoft) Active Accessibility (MSAA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Active_Accessibility https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Active_Accessibility - Active Channel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Channel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Channel - ActiveX Data Objects (ADO): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveX_Data_Objects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveX_Data_Objects - Active Desktop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Desktop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Desktop - ActiveMovie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveMovie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveMovie - Active Server Pages (ASP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages - Active Setup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Setup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Setup - ActiveSync: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveSync https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveSync --- In particular at the time around Windows Vista, Microsoft named a lot of technologies "Windows ... Foundation", for example: - Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) - Windows Driver Foundation (today: Windows Driver Frameworks): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Driver_Frameworks&oldid=1335869954 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Driver_Fr... - Windows Identity Foundation - Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) - Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) --- Also the "Windows Media ..." branding was big for media technologies at the respective time: - Windows Media Audio (WMA) - Windows Media Center, Windows Media Connect (both abbreviated to WMC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Connect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Connect - (Windows) Media Center Extender (MCX): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Center_Extender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Center_Extender - Windows Media Device Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmdm/windows-media-device-manager-architecture https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmdm/windows... - Windows Media DRM - Windows Media Encoder (WME) - Windows Media Player (WMP) - Windows Media Services (WMS): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Services - Windows Media Video (WMV)
kklisura 6mo ago
> Other people may send similar Prompts as yours, and they could get the same, similar, or different Responses and Creations. This is why I'm skeptical about all this AI coding thing...
snu 6mo ago
Hilariously, immediately after I read this, my boss sends a global message to us reminding us that we 'need to be trying to integrate copilot into our jobs.'
owenm 6mo ago
As far as I can tell, this is only for the free personal plan, not any of the business offerings (ie not Copilot for M365) and Github Copilot is under a separate set of terms. “These Terms don’t apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot apps or services unless that specific app or service says that these Terms apply.” Think of Copilot being a suite of different products under the same overall banner and it starts to make (a bit) more sense.
- harvey9 6mo ago
  Not really since the clause in full is "Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk." Are you saying that the business version cannot make mistakes and can be relied upon for important advice?
  - owenm 6mo ago
    No, I’m saying that MS have different terms for their business and personal offerings (as do OpenAI and Anthropic). To be fair to them, MS are quite open about accuracy for the business offerings, see here as one example: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-application-card https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/micr...
  - deleted 6mo ago
    [deleted]
- brunoborges 6mo ago
  This should be the top comment.
- pwarner 6mo ago
  M365 Copilot is neither useful nor entertaining then.
ibejoeb 6mo ago
They unironically relaunch it as XBox Copilot tomorrow...
hn_acc1 6mo ago
Do not taunt Happy Copilot Ball.
catlikesshrimp 6mo ago
The ownership section is hilarious (tldr your content is not ours, but we can do anything you could do with it except being liable) "We don’t own Your Content... By using Copilot, you grant us permission to use Your Content, which means we can copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, translate, and reformat it, and we can give those same rights to others who work on our behalf."
oytis 6mo ago
I might be alone with this, but I don't find it very entertaining.
Smalltalker-80 6mo ago
Cool, I'm going to put this disclaimer in my work email signature. So I'm never accountable for any mistakes.
OfirMarom 6mo ago
That one line is…doing A LOT of legal work.
osmsucks 6mo ago
To us, all the profit. To you, all the risk.
- alok-g 6mo ago
  +1 Software in general is usually provided on an "as is" basis with the creator not taking responsibility for anything going wrong.
OrvalWintermute 6mo ago
One of the most toxic TOS I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
mihaaly 6mo ago
My employer does not allow me using software with entertainment function on company hardver. Now what?! Do I have to uninstall Windows?
- NetMageSCW 6mo ago
  No, but you can’t use CoPilot any more.
pseudosavant 6mo ago
I can't help but be reminded of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas: "Funny how? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how?"
- SoftTalker 6mo ago
  I've read the claim that he ad-libbed a lot of that too.
lateforwork 6mo ago
Go to https://www.copilot.com/ https://www.copilot.com/ and ask a question. You'll see from the answers that it is indeed for entertainment only. It is ridiculously behind ChatGPT, and I don't know how that can happen since Microsoft has access to the same models.
- lousken 6mo ago
  it not as bad as in gpt 4.1 days, but i am wondering if it is just the system prompt or what is going on
  - joot82 6mo ago
    I imagine Microsoft like any other bean counter company heavily quantizing the GPT models or whatever they use to serve it at scale with minimal cost.
- commandlinefan 6mo ago
  Are you not entertained?!
- HDBaseT 6mo ago
  [dead]
polyamid23 6mo ago
They should tell copilot then! It seems to disagree. - ‚Are you for entertainment purposes only?‘ -‚Not at all — unless you want me to be. The short version: I’m not “for entertainment only.”‘ Edit: Ok I see it is legal framing to not be held liable, but can they just do that via ToS and let the tool itself promote something else?
- nashashmi 6mo ago
  That’s exactly what an LLM made for entertainment purposes only would say!
i-e-b 6mo ago
"Don’t use bots or scrapers" Says the bot based on scraped data
chrisjj 6mo ago
These terms too are pretty entertaning. we can’t promise that any Copilot’s Responses won’t infringe someone else’s rights (like their copyrights, trademarks, or rights of privacy) or defame them. You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless (including our affiliates, employees and any other agents) from and against any claims, losses, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to your use of Copilot
tasuki 6mo ago
Well, I'm entertained!
cartoonfoxes 6mo ago
And yet my licensed Visual Studio 2026 that's supposed to be for serious-face commercial development is rife with Copilot. > You may stop using Copilot at any time. But how? Microsoft has shoved it into so many products that I don't see how it's possible, without dropping them alltogether.
- brookst 6mo ago
  The link is pretty clear that it is only about copilot.com, not every product that has copilot in the name: > These Terms apply to your use of “Copilot,” which includes: > The standalone Copilot apps on your computer or mobile device > The Copilot service we offer at copilot.microsoft.com, copilot.com, and copilot.ai > Conversations you have with Copilot through other Microsoft apps and websites > Conversations you have with Copilot through third-party apps and platforms > Other Copilot-branded apps and services that link to these Terms > These Terms don’t apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot apps or services unless that specific app or service says that these Terms apply.
Surac 6mo ago
1. April is near. Perhaps copilot allowed himself to prank us all
oldnetguy 6mo ago
Then get it off my laptop
jamesgill 6mo ago
So is Windows.
convexly 6mo ago
If your tool is only for entertainment then stop putting it in every product I use for work...
- satisfice 6mo ago
  Are you not entertained??
  - convexly 6mo ago
    Apparently not enough to justify the subscription :\
TheRoque 6mo ago
Sure, but which copilot ? The one in my code editor ? The one in my OS ? The one in my sheets editor ?
rubyfan 6mo ago
Is this like how company's sell drugs or lab products and say it's "not for human consumption" or "for research purposes only"?
HackerThemAll 6mo ago
"Copilot is for entertainment purposes" Nah, I don't think so. It sucks at that.
none_to_remain 6mo ago
I simply no longer consider myself morally bound by any contract I'm not seriously expected to read
rkagerer 6mo ago
I really hate these so-called Terms of Service that are more a set of instructions than they are a contract. Eg. "If you see something wrong or inappropriate from Copilot, use the Report or Feedback features in Copilot to let us know." Does that bind me to a commitment to report? Am I in breach of the Terms if I see something wrong and I don't? I really hope judges take the way these "contemporary" terms are written as a signal of just how little bargaining power end-users have and start nullifying unfair clauses. It's getting ridiculous how one-sided these so-called agreements are. Companies don't want to take any responsibility whatsoever for the slop they're shilling.
IFC_LLC 6mo ago
Yeah, so what exactly do you call entertainment? Is slapping "Made for AI" label on every device in the known universe entertaining?
bustah 6mo ago
[flagged]
AdieuToLogic 6mo ago
Other products which have a disclaimer similar to Copilot's: Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. - Magic 8 Ball[0] - Tarot cards[1] - Reality TV shows - Psychic hotlines Caveat emptor. 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8_Ball https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8_Ball 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot
stuaxo 6mo ago
Interested to see these put to the test.
jeanlucas 6mo ago
which copilot?

606 points by lpcvoid 6mo ago

Seems fine to me for the consumer facing product terms lol

I can hear the lawyers huddled around a conference table rolling the bones and chanting the sacred words to come up with that "get out of trouble free" card. It told your son he had terminal cancer and should kill himself... sorry, it clearly says for Entertainment Purposes only.

argee 6mo ago
"Are you not entertained?"
- razingeden 6mo ago
  I , for one. am extremely entertained by this.

Simulacra 6mo ago

If it's for entertainment purposes only then why is it being shoved down our throats at every opportunity???

ranger_danger 6mo ago
Mandatory Fun (TM)
sheikhnbake 6mo ago
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
- kotaru 6mo ago
  I legit laughed for couple minutes, thank you for this comment.
boothby 6mo ago
It's not for your entertainment, silly, it's for theirs.

ortusdux 6mo ago

It worked for Fox News

ranger_danger 6mo ago
I think it's a little more nuanced than that. https://www.allsides.com/news/2022-02-08-0800/media-industry-fact-checking-claim-fox-news-says-its-programming-entertainment-not-news https://www.allsides.com/news/2022-02-08-0800/media-industry... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-news-entertainment-switch/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-news-entertainment-swi...

ar0 6mo ago

To be clear this is only for the standalone Copilot chat or app and website; not for the “Copilot” services integrated into Office 365 etc.

sgbeal 6mo ago
> To be clear this is only for the standalone Copilot chat or app and website; not for the “Copilot” services integrated into Office 365 etc. The section titled "WHEN & WHERE THESE TERMS APPLY" includes: > Conversations you have with Copilot through other Microsoft apps and websites
- rdsubhas 6mo ago
  Would be nice to know if it includes Github Copilot. I can't understand how to interpret "Copilot branded apps".
  - sgbeal 6mo ago
    It says "through other Microsoft apps and websites," i.e. they reserve the right to include or remove it when and where they like throughout their whole product line (which includes github, of course), as well as: - Conversations you have with Copilot through third-party apps and platforms - Other Copilot-branded apps and services that link to these Terms That first point (#4 in the original list) can cover all software, Copilot-branded or otherwise, which, even internally, uses Copilot (perhaps without your knowing so). Github Copilot (to take your specific example) is both "other Microsoft apps and websites" and "Copilot-branded". So, yeah, those ToS undoubtedly apply to Github Copilot.

wxw 6mo ago

> Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk. > We don’t own Your Content, but we may use Your Content to operate Copilot and improve it. By using Copilot, you grant us permission to use Your Content, which means we can copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, translate, and reformat it, and we can give those same rights to others who work on our behalf. lol

Junk_Collector 6mo ago
This is as good as when the engineer from the Claude team said they load their website in such a way as to protect against hostile actions such as scraping.

ratelimitsteve 6mo ago

i like the way that when ai does something good of course the people who built it should make a lot of money but when it does something bad no one is responsible

bradleyankrom 6mo ago
Lots of that going around these days (and for many of the previous days, at least in the US)

maieuticagent 6mo ago

They're just trying to pick up that Disney deal (Clippy rhymes with Mickey)

everdrive 6mo ago

Lawyers are playing Calvinball again. I have no idea why the law finds this kind of argumentation compelling. "I clearly intentionally deceived, but I stashed some bullshit legalese into a document no one will read so my deception is completely OK."

torginus 6mo ago
My two cents is that if it didn't, 'I didn't know that was illegal/breach of contract' would be a valid legal defense. Although intentionally saying things that contradict whats in the contract might be legally objectionable.
- marcosdumay 6mo ago
  When the contract is purposefully obtuse and hard to understand, that should be a valid legal defense. When it's huge, falls upon people that can't justify a lawyer, and keeps changing all the time, one shouldn't even need to claim it. It should be automatically invalid.
  - voxic11 6mo ago
    > Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk. Seems pretty clear to me, do you really think people need a lawyer to understand that?
    - lazide 6mo ago
      If it’s in a locked cabinet in the downstairs bathroom with the ‘out of order’ sign on the door, guarded by a leopard?
      - recursive 6mo ago
        A disused lavatory?

monegator 6mo ago

> Copilot may include advertising

sgbeal 6mo ago

The section titled > IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES & WARNINGS Tells us: > You may stop using Copilot at any time. That's an odd thing to include in a ToS.

throwa356262 6mo ago
I am working really hard to not start using Copilot. And belive me, if you use any Microsoft products or services they really make it hard to avoid accidentally using the damn thing. Including adding it to your office plan and then charging you 2x.
- Junk_Collector 6mo ago
  Gotta love how they moved the "Create Email/meeting" buttons in Outlook mobile and stuck the Copilot button there so that you will hit it accidentally.
- qubex 6mo ago
  I’m a Mac user and the only way to get Office 365 is a monthly subscription. Since there’s no subscription that doesn’t include CoPilot and since they hiked the price with the excuse that they’d added this thing I didn’t want, I just cancelled my subscription. A customer lost: hardly an issue, but if enough people do it, maybe they’ll get a clue and stop ramming this unwelcome abomination down our throats.
  - p_ing 6mo ago
    You can buy a perpetual Mac Office 2024, if you want.
- NetMageSCW 6mo ago
  I’ve only used it once, for WorkFlow creation but it seemed really useful there, but that may be more of an indictment of WorkFlow than an endorsement of CoPilot.
xnorswap 6mo ago
I doubt it is odd, I suspect almost every ToS has something similar.

giancarlostoro 6mo ago

How does this affect Copilot in VS 2022 / VS 2026? Because this is kind of insulting to a professional. I really wish Microsoft would learn to name things correctly. There's Copilot the ChatGPT-like service, then there's Copilot for Visual Studio which is not the same as far as I can tell.

adambb 6mo ago
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/responsible-use/chat-in-your-ide https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/responsible-use/chat-in-y... They do seem to word this at a more professional level in this context (the terms linked are for individuals using Copilot in Windows, probably?)

nerdjon 6mo ago

Can I get this on a sticker to pass out anyone tries to shove copilot down my throat at work? Maybe a shirt, could sell it on the Microsoft store even. Now that would be entertainment.

yoyohello13 6mo ago

I've been reading Jurassic Park recently. Hammond's monologue about expensive technology only being fundable via Entertainment seems very relevant.

Raed667 6mo ago

a blanket "entertainment only" disclaimer likely wouldn't survive scrutiny for a product actively/relentlessly marketed as a productivity tool

varispeed 6mo ago
depends how much judges are interested in bling.

staticautomatic 6mo ago

Guys they're just disclaiming warranties relax

LurkandComment 6mo ago

I thought a year ago when I bought a new laptop with 365 and Copilot integrated that they would make better use of AI and its integration. I can't think of when I actually used it and cancelled any subscription associated with it. On the otherhand, I use ChatGPT all the time.

ashleyn 6mo ago

Ah yes, the new "for tobacco use only" of tech.

jrochkind1 6mo ago

No way that holds up in court when they are marketing it for things other than entertainment.

anthk 6mo ago

I told you so, dear LLM evangelists.

tempodox 6mo ago
But they know better. They probably asked an LLM.

j45 6mo ago

Non-exact software will be causing sleepless nights for non-exact legal writers.

tech_ken 6mo ago

Another bingo square for that 'AI is gambling' post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47428541 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47428541)

anshumankmr 6mo ago

If it is for entertainment purposes only, why am I not laughing when I use it?

pwdisswordfishy 6mo ago
You need a better sense of humour apparently.
SoftTalker 6mo ago
Some people find being whipped while bound in leather to be entertaining.
- cindyllm 6mo ago
  [dead]
noisy_boy 6mo ago
They didn't say whose entertainment. It certainly isn't yours. Meanwhile they are laughing their way to the bank.

wowoc 6mo ago

Anthropic does a somewhat similar thing. If you visit their ToS (the one for Max/Pro plans) from a European IP address, they replace one section with this: Non-commercial use only. You agree not to use our Services for any commercial or business purposes and we (and our Providers) have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity. It's funny that a plan called "Pro" cannot be used professionally. https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms

deleted 6mo ago
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giobox 6mo ago
Ha out of curiosity I loaded that same consumer terms URL on both a USA and a UK VPN exit node - sure enough, the UK terms inject that extra clause you quoted banning commercial usage that is not present for USA users. diff of the changes between US and UK: https://www.diffchecker.com/BtqVrR9p/ https://www.diffchecker.com/BtqVrR9p/ There's the usual expected legal boilerplate differences. However, the UK version injects the additional clause at line 134 that has no analog in the US version.
- graemep 6mo ago
  In the Uk there seem to be separate commercial and consumer terms. In the UK the consumer terms say its subject to English law and the courts of the UK jurisdiction you live in. The commercial terms say that in the UK, Switzerland and the EEA there will be binding arbitration by an arbitrator in Ireland appointed by the President of the Law Society of Ireland.
  - giobox 6mo ago
    The UK commercial terms explicitly do not apply to individual user plans. The US also has a separate terms sheet for commercial plans. We are comparing like for like - an individual user using a Claude Pro subscription. A US user can use it for commercial use and be in compliance with the terms, the UK user cannot.

_trampeltier 6mo ago

Just today afternoon, I did read a bit trough Adobes EULA and I saw most of Adobes Software is not allowed to be used from children. I guess most (todays) software are not allowed for children because of the whole user tracking and spying.

mghackerlady 6mo ago
It could also be that minors aren't allowed to sign contracts, which a EULA could maybe be considered (I'm not a lawyer)

classified 6mo ago

So they finally admit that it's just a toy? Where does that leave all the mega-"productive" developers?

caycep 6mo ago

I should ask it to produce an image of Satya Nadella in Maximus garb yelling "are you not entertained?!"

soupfordummies 6mo ago
[dead]

soupfordummies 6mo ago

Worth noting that this is in the terms of use as of October 2025. This isn't "new".

jmugan 6mo ago

I thought the title was a joke until I actually read the thing.

nunez 6mo ago

FYI: This is only for the "Cortana replacement" Copilot, not the other Copilots. This language doesn't appear in GitHub Copilot's Consumer Agreement, for example.

therein 6mo ago
Maybe they shouldn't name everything Copilot.
- javadocmd 6mo ago
  Copilot copilot Copilot copilot copilot copilot Copilot copilot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffal...
- aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
  In the past, Microsoft named everything ".NET" [1] or "Windows Live" [2]. And before naming everything "Copilot", Microsoft named everything "Microsoft 365" [3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET_strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_.NET_strategy [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_365 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_365
  - brookst 6mo ago
    I'm old enough to remember when everything was "Active". Active Directory, ActiveX, etc.
    - aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
      Now that you mention it: in addition to your mentioned Active Directory and ActiveX: - (Microsoft) Active Accessibility (MSAA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Active_Accessibility https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Active_Accessibility - Active Channel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Channel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Channel - ActiveX Data Objects (ADO): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveX_Data_Objects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveX_Data_Objects - Active Desktop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Desktop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Desktop - ActiveMovie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveMovie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveMovie - Active Server Pages (ASP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages - Active Setup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Setup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Setup - ActiveSync: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveSync https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveSync --- In particular at the time around Windows Vista, Microsoft named a lot of technologies "Windows ... Foundation", for example: - Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) - Windows Driver Foundation (today: Windows Driver Frameworks): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Driver_Frameworks&oldid=1335869954 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Driver_Fr... - Windows Identity Foundation - Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) - Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) --- Also the "Windows Media ..." branding was big for media technologies at the respective time: - Windows Media Audio (WMA) - Windows Media Center, Windows Media Connect (both abbreviated to WMC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Connect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Connect - (Windows) Media Center Extender (MCX): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Center_Extender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Center_Extender - Windows Media Device Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmdm/windows-media-device-manager-architecture https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmdm/windows... - Windows Media DRM - Windows Media Encoder (WME) - Windows Media Player (WMP) - Windows Media Services (WMS): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Services - Windows Media Video (WMV)

kklisura 6mo ago

> Other people may send similar Prompts as yours, and they could get the same, similar, or different Responses and Creations. This is why I'm skeptical about all this AI coding thing...

snu 6mo ago

Hilariously, immediately after I read this, my boss sends a global message to us reminding us that we 'need to be trying to integrate copilot into our jobs.'

owenm 6mo ago

As far as I can tell, this is only for the free personal plan, not any of the business offerings (ie not Copilot for M365) and Github Copilot is under a separate set of terms. “These Terms don’t apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot apps or services unless that specific app or service says that these Terms apply.” Think of Copilot being a suite of different products under the same overall banner and it starts to make (a bit) more sense.

harvey9 6mo ago
Not really since the clause in full is "Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk." Are you saying that the business version cannot make mistakes and can be relied upon for important advice?
- owenm 6mo ago
  No, I’m saying that MS have different terms for their business and personal offerings (as do OpenAI and Anthropic). To be fair to them, MS are quite open about accuracy for the business offerings, see here as one example: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-application-card https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/micr...
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
brunoborges 6mo ago
This should be the top comment.
pwarner 6mo ago
M365 Copilot is neither useful nor entertaining then.

ibejoeb 6mo ago

They unironically relaunch it as XBox Copilot tomorrow...

hn_acc1 6mo ago

Do not taunt Happy Copilot Ball.

catlikesshrimp 6mo ago

The ownership section is hilarious (tldr your content is not ours, but we can do anything you could do with it except being liable) "We don’t own Your Content... By using Copilot, you grant us permission to use Your Content, which means we can copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, translate, and reformat it, and we can give those same rights to others who work on our behalf."

oytis 6mo ago

I might be alone with this, but I don't find it very entertaining.

Smalltalker-80 6mo ago

Cool, I'm going to put this disclaimer in my work email signature. So I'm never accountable for any mistakes.

OfirMarom 6mo ago

That one line is…doing A LOT of legal work.

osmsucks 6mo ago

To us, all the profit. To you, all the risk.

alok-g 6mo ago
+1 Software in general is usually provided on an "as is" basis with the creator not taking responsibility for anything going wrong.

OrvalWintermute 6mo ago

One of the most toxic TOS I have ever had the misfortune of reading.

mihaaly 6mo ago

My employer does not allow me using software with entertainment function on company hardver. Now what?! Do I have to uninstall Windows?

NetMageSCW 6mo ago
No, but you can’t use CoPilot any more.

pseudosavant 6mo ago

I can't help but be reminded of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas: "Funny how? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how?"

SoftTalker 6mo ago
I've read the claim that he ad-libbed a lot of that too.

lateforwork 6mo ago

Go to https://www.copilot.com/ https://www.copilot.com/ and ask a question. You'll see from the answers that it is indeed for entertainment only. It is ridiculously behind ChatGPT, and I don't know how that can happen since Microsoft has access to the same models.

lousken 6mo ago
it not as bad as in gpt 4.1 days, but i am wondering if it is just the system prompt or what is going on
- joot82 6mo ago
  I imagine Microsoft like any other bean counter company heavily quantizing the GPT models or whatever they use to serve it at scale with minimal cost.
commandlinefan 6mo ago
Are you not entertained?!
HDBaseT 6mo ago
[dead]

polyamid23 6mo ago

They should tell copilot then! It seems to disagree. - ‚Are you for entertainment purposes only?‘ -‚Not at all — unless you want me to be. The short version: I’m not “for entertainment only.”‘ Edit: Ok I see it is legal framing to not be held liable, but can they just do that via ToS and let the tool itself promote something else?

nashashmi 6mo ago
That’s exactly what an LLM made for entertainment purposes only would say!

i-e-b 6mo ago

"Don’t use bots or scrapers" Says the bot based on scraped data

chrisjj 6mo ago

These terms too are pretty entertaning. we can’t promise that any Copilot’s Responses won’t infringe someone else’s rights (like their copyrights, trademarks, or rights of privacy) or defame them. You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless (including our affiliates, employees and any other agents) from and against any claims, losses, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to your use of Copilot

tasuki 6mo ago

Well, I'm entertained!

cartoonfoxes 6mo ago

And yet my licensed Visual Studio 2026 that's supposed to be for serious-face commercial development is rife with Copilot. > You may stop using Copilot at any time. But how? Microsoft has shoved it into so many products that I don't see how it's possible, without dropping them alltogether.

brookst 6mo ago
The link is pretty clear that it is only about copilot.com, not every product that has copilot in the name: > These Terms apply to your use of “Copilot,” which includes: > The standalone Copilot apps on your computer or mobile device > The Copilot service we offer at copilot.microsoft.com, copilot.com, and copilot.ai > Conversations you have with Copilot through other Microsoft apps and websites > Conversations you have with Copilot through third-party apps and platforms > Other Copilot-branded apps and services that link to these Terms > These Terms don’t apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot apps or services unless that specific app or service says that these Terms apply.

Surac 6mo ago

1. April is near. Perhaps copilot allowed himself to prank us all

oldnetguy 6mo ago

Then get it off my laptop

jamesgill 6mo ago

So is Windows.

convexly 6mo ago

If your tool is only for entertainment then stop putting it in every product I use for work...

satisfice 6mo ago
Are you not entertained??
- convexly 6mo ago
  Apparently not enough to justify the subscription :\

TheRoque 6mo ago

Sure, but which copilot ? The one in my code editor ? The one in my OS ? The one in my sheets editor ?

rubyfan 6mo ago

Is this like how company's sell drugs or lab products and say it's "not for human consumption" or "for research purposes only"?

HackerThemAll 6mo ago

"Copilot is for entertainment purposes" Nah, I don't think so. It sucks at that.

none_to_remain 6mo ago

I simply no longer consider myself morally bound by any contract I'm not seriously expected to read

rkagerer 6mo ago

I really hate these so-called Terms of Service that are more a set of instructions than they are a contract. Eg. "If you see something wrong or inappropriate from Copilot, use the Report or Feedback features in Copilot to let us know." Does that bind me to a commitment to report? Am I in breach of the Terms if I see something wrong and I don't? I really hope judges take the way these "contemporary" terms are written as a signal of just how little bargaining power end-users have and start nullifying unfair clauses. It's getting ridiculous how one-sided these so-called agreements are. Companies don't want to take any responsibility whatsoever for the slop they're shilling.

IFC_LLC 6mo ago

Yeah, so what exactly do you call entertainment? Is slapping "Made for AI" label on every device in the known universe entertaining?

bustah 6mo ago

[flagged]

AdieuToLogic 6mo ago

Other products which have a disclaimer similar to Copilot's: Copilot is for entertainment purposes only. - Magic 8 Ball[0] - Tarot cards[1] - Reality TV shows - Psychic hotlines Caveat emptor. 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8_Ball https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8_Ball 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot

stuaxo 6mo ago

Interested to see these put to the test.

jeanlucas 6mo ago

which copilot?