Latest updates on Microsoft Copilot, summarised and linked back to the knowledge base. Subscribe via RSS.
Copilot UX components, which let an agent render charts, forms and approvals inline in the Microsoft 365 Copilot canvas, are on track for general availability in October 2026. Worth knowing if you're designing human-in-the-loop steps that currently fall back to text and links.
Work IQ Developer Tools (wiqd) lets you import an existing Agent Plugins-format plugin, or scaffold a new one, and package it for Microsoft Copilot. The wiqd plugin command surface is public preview and may change, so check it before promising clients a delivery date.
Microsoft is reworking Copilot around three surfaces: Home (a unified chat and task-delegation hub), Code (natural-language app and automation building for non-developers, built on GitHub Copilot), and Autopilot (an agent that keeps working on tasks while you're offline). Rolling out first through the Frontier programme, with direct Word/Excel/PowerPoint editing in Copilot and broader grounding via Work IQ, Fabric IQ and a plugin registry.
Work IQ, a new intelligence layer grounding Copilot and agents in Dynamics 365/Power Platform business data, enters public preview 30 September 2026 - semantic models, reusable business skills, and governed write-back actions, landing first in Sales and Customer Service with Finance and Operations following in late October.
Microsoft 365 G7 brings the E7 Frontier Suite to Government Community Cloud, bundling M365 G5, Entra Suite, Copilot and Agent 365 into one government SKU. G7 and Agent 365 go on sale to GCC customers on 1 October, with workloads switching on in phases as each clears its GCC authorisation.
Copilot Studio gains natural-language app building alongside agents and workflows, rolling out in public preview; the same capability lands in Copilot Cowork as an /app skill, currently gated behind the Microsoft Frontier program. You describe the outcome, data and users, Copilot generates an app scaffold you can iterate on in conversation or inspect as code.
Fabric data agents are generally available inside Copilot Studio, so an agent can query Fabric data directly. Worth knowing before anyone builds a bespoke connector to do the same job.
On testing what an agent actually knows and closing the gaps, using SPFx dev skills as the worked example. Useful if you're past the demo stage and into whether the thing is reliable.
From September 2026 Microsoft is folding the Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Dataverse roadmaps into the single AI at Work roadmap, so upcoming capabilities, rollout progress and adoption planning all sit in one place. If you've been tracking the separate release-plan sites, that's where they're heading.
GitHub Copilot's coding agent can now be driven from a Teams conversation, so the discussion becomes the prompt instead of being rewritten in another tool.
Second part of the Teams agent series, this one on keeping an agent useful in a noisy channel rather than making it another source of noise. Practical design guidance, not marketing.
Developer tools for Work IQ are in preview — the layer that gives agents access to work context across Microsoft 365. Early, but it's where the extensibility story is heading.
Power BI insights are being surfaced to Copilot users generally, not just people who live in Power BI. Changes who you need to think about when you set up row-level security.
The unified manifest has reached general availability for Office add-ins, so Teams apps, add-ins and Copilot extensions now share one packaging format instead of three. If you're still shipping the old XML manifest, this is the point to plan the move.
First part of the dev-blog series on building agents that live inside Teams conversations, covering how to turn a thread into a concrete action rather than another chat window.
SharePoint Copilot Apps in public preview: turning intent into an app surface inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. Preview, so expect the shape to move.
A prebuilt Onboarding Agent lands in Dynamics 365 Human Resources to walk new starters through their first days. Relevant only if the client runs D365 HR, but it's another packaged agent to fold into licensing and governance planning.
Microsoft is aiming Copilot in Excel squarely at finance work, building on the Frontier programme. If you advise finance teams, look at how it handles structured models and whether its outputs are auditable enough for their controls.
Microsoft has taken Copilot Cowork to general availability after its run in the Frontier program. If you're advising on agent rollout, it moves Cowork from pilot-only territory into something you can plan for.
Copilot Cowork — the agent that works across files and tasks — is out of the Frontier preview and generally available. GA puts it in scope for production rollouts, so fold it into adoption and governance planning rather than treating it as experimental.
Scout is a new always-on personal agent embedded across the Microsoft 365 apps and grounded in the user's flow of work. Watch how it overlaps with existing Copilot surfaces and what admin controls govern it before it reaches tenants.
Work IQ — the intelligence layer that models how work happens across a tenant — now exposes APIs, so custom agents and integrations can build on that signal. Relevant if you're building Copilot extensions or agents that need organisational context.
New Microsoft 365 Business SKUs ship with Copilot built in (from 1 July), aimed at small business. Check the licensing maths against standalone Copilot add-ons before recommending a path for smaller clients.
Copilot's app and its presence across Microsoft 365 apps got a visual refresh: cleaner layout, faster load, more consistent placement. No functional or licensing change, but screenshots and training material in adoption decks will now look dated.
Computer-using agents reached general availability in Copilot Studio, alongside a redesigned workflows canvas and Work IQ extensibility. GA changes the support and SLA conversation for anyone already piloting CUA-based automation.
April's Copilot Studio update adds tighter agent governance controls, a revamped workflow experience with connected-app actions, and a bigger agent usage estimator, useful ammunition for governance and cost-forecasting conversations.