Microsoft revamps Copilot with code-building tool and always-on AI agent
Microsoft has unveiled new Copilot capabilities including a Code tool and an always-on Autopilot agent, as it seeks to turn its AI assistant into a one-stop shop for office workers.
Microsoft on Friday unveiled several new capabilities in its Copilot app, including a coding tool and an always-on AI agent, as the software giant seeks to transform its AI assistant into a one-stop shop for office workers, Reuters reported.
The company is embedding its Office applications Word, Excel and PowerPoint directly within Copilot, allowing users to work collaboratively on them without leaving the AI tool. Microsoft is racing to expand Copilot beyond its chat-based roots to boost adoption as it competes with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude.
The Windows maker unveiled “Code”, which lets users build apps, dashboards and other software using natural-language prompts. Powered by the same technology as Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, it rolls out to early-access customers at the end of the month, while 365 Premium and Pro subscribers can preview it later this year.
Microsoft is also rolling out “Autopilot”, a revamp of the “Scout” AI agent it unveiled in June, in private preview at the end of the month. The digital-coworker agent will carry its own identity in the company directory, with permissions users can control.
“I think it’s been very hard for many organisations to bring agents into the enterprise because of security, compliance and governance concerns,” Annie Pearl, corporate vice president of Copilot Product, said in an interview. Microsoft also unveiled cost-management capabilities giving employees direct insight into their AI-usage costs, at a time when enterprises worry about rapid AI usage racking up unexpected bills.
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