Microsoft Announces Copilot Refresh With Autonomous Agents, Built-In Office and App Creation

Microsoft is dramatically expanding Copilot with a redesigned experience that brings Office apps, AI-powered coding and autonomous agents together under one roof.

The new Copilot refresh centers on three pillars, including Home, Code, and Autopilot. Microsoft describes the overhaul as an attempt to make Copilot the central place where people can ask questions, create documents, build software, and become more productive at work.

Home combines Microsoft’s existing Chat and Cowork experiences. Chat remains focused on quick questions and content creation, while Cowork can independently complete larger jobs such as preparing customer briefings, launch materials or financial packages. Eventually, Microsoft says users won’t have to choose between them, with Copilot automatically determining which tool should handle a request.

Microsoft is also putting Word, Excel and PowerPoint directly inside Copilot. Users can create and edit actual Office files without jumping between apps, while teammates can simultaneously make changes from the traditional Office applications.

Code takes things considerably further. Users can describe an app, dashboard, automation, or workflow in natural language, and Copilot builds the software in a sandboxed environment using the same underlying technology as GitHub Copilot.

Then there’s Autopilot, Microsoft’s most ambitious addition. Previously called Scout, Autopilot is a persistent AI agent with its own identity, memory, computer and workspace. It can monitor Teams channels, follow up on conversations and continue projects while its user is away. Microsoft first unveiled Scout in June as an always-on agent that can operate within company-defined permissions.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella framed the overhaul as part of a broader change in how people work with AI. “The human is really in the flow and has the agency, has the ambition to direct and leverage AI,” Nadella said. The CEO argues that AI should increase what people can accomplish rather than simply substitute their work. But autonomous agents introduce obvious security concerns. Nadella acknowledged that directly, saying someone had described AI agents to him as a “massive new insider risk.”

“Before I get to celebrate all the wonderful things it did, I need to trust it,” Nadella said. Microsoft is addressing that through Agent 365, which provides identities, monitoring, security policies and spending controls for agents.

The expansion comes as Copilot adoption accelerates. Microsoft recently reported more than 30 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats, while conversations per user nearly doubled year over year.

Home and Code begin rolling out through Microsoft’s Frontier program in the coming weeks, while Autopilot expands into private preview at the end of September. Microsoft is also developing Today, a proactive dashboard that pulls together Outlook email, calendars, Teams conversations, meetings and tasks, with a private preview planned for October.