Frequently Asked Questions

Copilot in Azure Quantum is an AI-powered productivity and learning assistant, trained specifically on quantum computing as well as chemistry and materials science (CMS). It leverages the latest Large Language Model (LLM) from Azure OpenAI to augment your quantum exploration, research and discovery. It can help you understand quantum concepts, generate and explain sample code, visualize chemistry molecules, summarize chemistry research and help choose the right tool or library for your chemistry problem. With Copilot in Azure Quantum you can focus your ingenuity where it matters most -- creativity, discovery and learning. 

Copilot in Azure Quantum is powered by GPT-4, a generative pretrained AI model hosted by Azure OpenAI. It has been trained on natural language text and source code from publicly available sources, including code in public repositories such as GitHub. More information is available in the Azure OpenAI Service Models documentation. 

Copilot in Azure Quantum is great at simplifying fairly complex topics and accelerating learning and exploration by: 

• Providing answers to questions about quantum computing.
• Clearly explaining quantum computing concepts.
• Helping learn about chemistry and materials science.
• Generating and explaining Q# code samples for learning and exploration.

Note: Copilot in Azure Quantum is still in preview. At this time, some of the Q# code generated may not run in the browser coding experience. The Azure Quantum team is constantly working to improve it and the accuracy of its responses. If you find an issue, please report use the feedback form provided in the FAQ below. 

Like the adage “use the right tool for the job”, Copilot in Azure Quantum is best used in the domains for which it is trained, quantum computing, chemistry and materials science.  Generic questions outside of these domains are best handled by Bing Chat.  

Copilot in Azure Quantum is not well suited to generate production ready code and is not a full service code generation tool. For example, it does not provide debugging tools. For a fuller combined coding and generative AI experience, we recommend GitHub Copilot. Lastly, while LLM AI technologies are rapidly improving, responses from Copilot in Azure Quantum should always be reviewed for accuracy.

Q# is an open-source, high-level programming language for developing and running quantum algorithms. It’s part of the Quantum Development Kit (QDK) and is designed to be hardware agnostic, to scale for the full range of quantum applications, and to optimize execution.

Copilot in Azure Quantum has been trained to be an expert on quantum computing and quantum coding, including Q#. You can use it to answer questions on quantum concepts, quantum computing, or quantum application development. You can also ask it to generate Q# code samples for you, or to explain a particular line of code in more detail. 

Copilot in Azure Quantum is designed to generate the best code possible given its training content, but it does not write perfect code. It is intended to generate code primarily for learning and exploration purposes, not production deployment.  For example, it doesn’t test the code it suggests so the code may not always compile or run. Also, since it trains on publicly available content – and since Q# is a rapidly evolving language – it is possible that a library or function call chosen by Copilot in Azure Quantum may no longer be supported. 

No. The coding interface on quantum.microsoft.com is supported by a quantum simulator. When you click “Run” and execute Q# code from your browser, the code is submitted to a Q# compiler running in browser. The compiler returns Quantum Intermediate Representation (QIR), which is then executed by the quantum simulator. The simulator passes execution results back to the browser, which you can see and review in the results window on the page.

Yes. If you would like to experiment with current quantum hardware, you can copy the code generated by Copilot in Azure Quantum and run it in the Azure Quantum service against real quantum hardware targets.  Learn more about creating an Azure Quantum workspace in the Azure Portal. 

No. Copilot in Azure Quantum is a tool, like a compiler. Microsoft does not own the suggestions Copilot in Azure Quantum provides to you. If you save or reuse any code generated by Copilot in Azure Quantum, you are responsible for that code and how it is used. We recommend that you carefully test, review, and validate any code provided before integrating it into a solution or application, as you would with any code you write that incorporates material you did not independently originate.

Suggestions from Copilot in Azure Quantum are all generated through AI, which means it generates content and code in a probabilistic way. The probability that it will produce the same code as a snippet in its training set is non-zero but low. 

Given that most public sources for quantum computing and Q# are in English, Copilot in Azure Quantum will likely work less well in scenarios where natural language prompts are not in English and/or are grammatically incorrect. Therefore, non-English speakers might experience a lower quality of service.

Copilot in Azure Quantum has been built on the Azure OpenAI service, which includes filters to block offensive language in prompts and to avoid synthesizing suggestions in sensitive contexts. (You can review the Azure OpenAI documentation for more information on content filtering in the service.) 

Copilot in Azure Quantum has been built on the Azure OpenAI service. The Azure OpenAI Service processes some data related to service use including prompts submitted by users. For example, the Azure OpenAI Service includes a content management system that works alongside the models to filter potentially harmful content. This system works by running both the input prompt and generated completion through an ensemble of classification models aimed at detecting misuse. The Azure OpenAI Service also stores prompts and completions for up to thirty (30) days to monitor for content and/or behaviors that suggest use of the service in a manner that may violate applicable product terms. For more information, see the “Data, privacy and security” section of the Azure OpenAI documentation.  

Copilot in Azure Quantum is based on Azure OpenAI. Detailed information on data practices and processing in Azure OpenAI is available in their documentation. 

In addition to the Azure OpenAI uses, Copilot in Azure Quantum collects limited telemetry data that is used by Microsoft to monitor service quality and enable improvements. Such uses may include:

• Evaluating the AI chat's efficacy, e.g., by measuring usage, session length and the number of questions asked and answered per session. 
• Investigating and detecting potential abuse of Copilot in Azure Quantum.
   

No. We follow responsible practices in accordance with our Privacy Statement. Copilot in Azure Quantum uses Azure OpenAI to process chat prompts and completions. Code snippets are treated the same as other chat prompt/completion data. More insights on how prompt/completion data is processed by Azure OpenAI can be found here. 

We appreciate your interest to help improve the product. Please provide feedback at https://aka.ms/AzureQuantumFeedback.

The Azure Quantum katas, or katas for short, are free self-paced learning tutorials, assisted by Copilot in Azure Quantum. The katas focus on teaching quantum computing concepts and quantum programming using the Q# language. They include content to help understand theory as well as practical hands-on coding exercises, all directly in a browser, with no package install or subscription required. 

Kata (pronounced kah-tuh) is the Japanese word for “form”, a pattern of learning and practicing new skills. 

Yes. Following sign-in, Azure Quantum will track and store information related to your progress through the katas exercises using your MSA (Microsoft account email). This information includes the date and time you completed an exercise as well as any Q# code that was submitted as your answer. This is the only information that is stored and you can delete it at any time. To find out more about how we handle your data, please see the Microsoft Privacy Policy.

Yes.  Simply navigate to the “My Progress” tab on the Learn with Azure Quantum katas page and click ‘Delete my data’.  Note that this will reset all your progress and delete any and all code you have submitted. This action cannot be undone. This action may take a couple of seconds to complete, confirmation will be provided by the user seeing progress set back to zero. To find out more about how we handle your data, please see the Microsoft Privacy Policy.

Terms of Use help ensure users are aware of terms and conditions that apply to the use of the Azure Quantum katas and outline the rights and responsibilities of both parties.

Not currently. Because it can be hard to write code on a mobile device, we recommend desktop for the full katas tutorial experience.  

Yes, the Azure Quantum katas teach quantum programming using the Q# language.  Q# is a domain-specific programming language used for expressing quantum algorithms.  For more information visit: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/quantum/user-guide/.

No. At this time, Azure Quantum katas are limited to Q#.

Not at this time.  Currently, Azure Quantum katas are only available in English.  

Q# code written elsewhere may compile and run in the Azure Quantum katas, but the interface is designed and optimized to run the exercises provided within the tutorials. For more general Q# code exploration with full results experience visit https://quantum.microsoft.com/en-us/experience/quantum-coding.

Yes! The library of Azure Quantum katas will continue to expand over time. If you have specific suggestions for tutorial topics, please use the Feedback button above the Copilot in Azure Quantum pane.  

We welcome your feedback. Please use the Feedback button above the Copilot in Azure Quantum pane to share any feedback you have.  

Yes. If you are interested in using additional Azure Quantum educational resources such as packaged curriculum please contact us through the Feedback form by clicking the Feedback button above the Copilot in Azure Quantum pane.