The Copilot button and the website
Users who go to copilot.microsoft.com or press the Copilot button on the Bing homepage must now sign in. Krishna Madhavan, principal product manager for Bing at Microsoft AI, said that going forward all Copilot users are required to log in. Seen from the street, the difference is this: the button still says Copilot, and the next step is a sign-in.[1]
Copilot Search answers that appear inside Bing search results remain visible without signing in. Michael Schechter, corporate vice president of search growth and experiences at Microsoft, said Copilot Search does not require signing in. Copilot Search sits inside the search result, and that surface does not ask for a sign-in.[1]
One name, two sign-in rules
My read is that one Copilot name now carries two sign-in rules. copilot.microsoft.com and the Copilot button on the Bing homepage require a sign-in; Copilot Search answers inside Bing search results remain visible without signing in. Krishna Madhavan said that going forward all Copilot users are required to log in, and Michael Schechter said Copilot Search does not require signing in.[1]
Going to copilot.microsoft.com or pressing the Copilot button on the Bing homepage makes sign-in part of opening Copilot. Reading a Copilot Search answer inside Bing search results still does not require signing in. Setup sits here: the assistant's door is a sign-in, and the answer already in the search result does not add that step.[1]
The next check for a reader
The change was first noticed by Venkat at Windows Report, and Search Engine Roundtable published a screen recording showing both cases. How many users hit that sign-in sits outside the recording. What a user can still look at is whether Copilot Search answers inside Bing search results remain visible without signing in.[1]