Microsoft Rebuilds Copilot with Code Tool, Always-On Agent and Office Apps

The company announced the changes on Friday, September 25, introducing three main features which include Home, Code and Autopilot. It also brought Word, Excel and PowerPoint into Copilot and revealed new tools for managing AI spending.

The changes expand Copilot’s functionality, so instead of using it mainly to ask questions or generate content, users can now delegate tasks, build simple software and work on Office files without leaving the app.

Home serves as the new starting point, bringing Copilot Chat and Cowork together, giving users one place to start a conversation or hand over a longer task.

For example, a user can ask Cowork to prepare an RFP response, customer briefing or financial close package. Copilot can then work through the task and return a completed result.

Microsoft is also putting Word, Excel and PowerPoint inside Copilot. Users can ask Copilot to create or update a document, spreadsheet or presentation while keeping the file editable.

Changes made by Copilot or another collaborator can also appear across the connected Office apps.

Copilot can now build software

Microsoft’s new Code feature takes Copilot beyond documents and spreadsheets.

Users can describe an app, dashboard, tracker, automation or workflow in natural language. Copilot then builds the solution without requiring them to write the code themselves.

Microsoft said Code uses the same underlying technology as GitHub Copilot. It runs in a sandboxed environment and can create tools that users share with colleagues.

The feature will begin rolling out through Microsoft’s Frontier programme at the end of September. Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers will get access through a preview later this year.

Microsoft has also introduced Copilot Managed Runtime, which provides a controlled environment for running software created through Copilot. The company said the service is now in preview.

Autopilot can keep working after the user leaves

The other major change is Autopilot, a persistent agent previously known as Scout.

Users can give Autopilot a name, role and objective, while agent can then continue working without receiving a new prompt each time.

Microsoft said it can follow up on conversations, monitor channels, manage recurring work and continue projects after the user has stopped interacting with it.

Autopilot has its own identity, memory, computer and workspace within an organisation’s Microsoft 365 environment, and can also operate across Teams, Outlook, chats, channels and documents, subject to the permissions set by the organisation.

The company gave supplier reviews as one example. Autopilot could prepare the schedule, organise meetings, follow up with stakeholders and keep the process moving.

Microsoft will expand Autopilot to private preview at the end of September.

Microsoft changes how some Copilot use is billed

The overhaul also changes how Microsoft handles Copilot costs. Regular Copilot use is covered by a user subscription licence, while longer-running agent tasks will use usage-based billing.

Microsoft explained that Copilot Cowork, Code and Autopilot will use this model, while customers will pay according to the work performed rather than relying only on a fixed user subscription.

The company has also added FinOps for AI tools to help organisations track spending, set usage policies and see how much AI work different tasks consume.

Administrators will be able to control which model families different groups can use and employees will also be able to see their credit usage, remaining balances and usage history inside Copilot.

Microsoft is expanding Copilot’s access to business data at the same time. Fabric IQ will bring data from Power BI semantic models into Copilot, while additional connections to Dynamics 365 and Power Platform will allow the assistant to work with business information and workflows.

The company is also introducing a new plugin registry for Microsoft, partner and custom-built plugins.

Microsoft’s changes follow a series of updates aimed at moving Copilot from a chat-based assistant towards software that can carry out longer pieces of work. 

The company launched Scout in June as an always-on agent and has since been expanding its infrastructure for running agents inside business environments.

The new Copilot is now rolling out through the Frontier programme, with different features becoming available at different stages.