Consensus for Copilot is an official app in the Microsoft Marketplace, bringing peer-reviewed research directly into the Microsoft 365 tools you already use.
Once connected, Copilot can search Consensus’s database of 220M+ peer-reviewed papers to help you find relevant research, generate cited summaries, and incorporate scientific evidence into your work.
How to connect Consensus to Copilot
You'll need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and a Consensus account, which is free to create.
In Microsoft 365 Copilot:
Open Settings
Select Sources
Click Connect
When prompted, continue to Consensus and sign in to your Consensus account to authorize the connection.
Once connected, Consensus will remain available in your Sources.
Don't see Consensus? If you're using Copilot through a university or organization, your Microsoft 365 administrator may need to make Consensus available to your account before you can connect it.
How to use Consensus in Copilot
Once connected:
Start a conversation in Copilot
Click the + button and select Change Data Sources
Make sure Consensus is turned On
Enter your research question or instructions
Copilot can then use Consensus to search academic research and incorporate relevant papers into its response.
What you can do with Consensus in Microsoft 365
Once you've connected Consensus to Copilot, you can use it across supported Microsoft 365 experiences:
Copilot Chat and Cowork: Ask research questions, find relevant papers, generate cited summaries, compare findings, and run more complex research workflows.
Word: Find supporting studies while you draft and cite the research you use.
Excel: Build screening, extraction, or comparison tables with research references.
PowerPoint: Find sourced evidence for presentations, lectures, lab meetings, journal clubs, and more.
You can also ask Consensus to apply research criteria such as publication date, study type, population, or sample size; identify gaps in the literature; and organize findings into structured outputs like tables, briefs, and reading lists.
Use Skills for repeatable research workflows
You can also use Consensus with Skills to run repeatable research workflows in Copilot.
Skills can help you structure more advanced tasks such as literature reviews, evidence searches, reading-list generation, and other multi-step research workflows.
If you're using Copilot Cowork, you can load a Skill to guide Copilot through a more advanced research process using Consensus.
Download example Skills here: https://consensus.app/home/mcp/
How calls are counted
Consensus usage in Copilot counts toward your total monthly API and MCP usage.
A standard Consensus search returns up to 20 papers, but you can request more when needed.
Each call covers up to 100 papers:
1-100 papers = 1 call
101-200 papers = 2 calls
201-300 papers = 3 calls
And so on, with each additional 100 papers counting as another call
This applies to both the calls included in your plan and additional paid usage.
You can view your usage from the API & MCP Dashboard in Consensus.
Usage limits
Your Consensus usage in Copilot depends on your Consensus plan, not your Microsoft 365 plan.
Consensus Plan | Default results per search | Included calls per month | Maximum calls with additional usage ($0.05/call) |
Free | 10 | 30 | n/a |
Pro | 20 | 500 | 1,000 |
Team & Enterprise | 20 | 500 | 1,000 |
Deep | 20 | 2,000 | 10,000 |
Your API and MCP usage count toward the same monthly usage limit.
Paid users can enable additional usage for $0.05 per call up to their plan's maximum monthly limit.
Your usage resets on the 1st of each month.
How to view and manage your API and MCP usage
You can view your usage from the API & MCP Dashboard in Consensus.
To access it:
Click your profile icon in Consensus
Select API & MCP Dashboard
From the dashboard, you can:
See your current API and MCP usage
View your plan, monthly limit, and reset date
See how usage is split between API and MCP
Enable or disable additional usage
Manage connected MCP clients
View your billing history
FAQs
Where can I find Consensus for Copilot?
Consensus for Copilot is available as an official app in the Microsoft Marketplace here: https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/WA200011861
Can I use Consensus in Copilot for free?
Yes. You can connect a free Consensus account, and your available usage will depend on your Consensus plan.
Why can't I see Consensus under Sources?
If you're using Microsoft 365 through a university or organization, Consensus may need to be deployed by your Microsoft 365 administrator before it appears in your Sources.
Once your admin makes Consensus available, you still need to connect it to your own Consensus account.
Feel free to send your admin to the Microsoft 365 Copilot admin guide: https://docs.consensus.app/enterprise/microsoft-365-copilot
Is my usage shared across Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, and the API?
Yes. Consensus API and MCP usage counts toward the same monthly usage limit across your connected tools.