Microsoft overhauls Copilot with new coding, document editing features

Microsoft has launched an updated version of Copilot, an AI assistant integrated into its Microsoft 365 productivity suite. The most significant upgrade is the introduction of a Code interface, which allows non-technical employees to build simple applications using prompts. These applications can take the form of desktop widgets or cloud services and can be shared with colleagues.

To simplify the process, Microsoft introduced Copilot Managed Runtime, a service that deploys AI-generated apps in a cloud environment without requiring manual configuration or maintenance. This service comes with a software development kit (SDK) and a command line tool for engineers to refine the apps created by non-technical colleagues.

For instance, a developer could create an integration linking an AI-generated app to an external service. The new Copilot release also features a revamped homepage with a Chat mode, designed for non-technical work, powered by an integration with Office. Users can ask Chat to create Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files by describing their contents.

The tool also enables editing of existing documents directly within the Copilot interface. A third new interface section, Autopilot, allows users to create AI agents without writing code. These agents can automate recurring tasks or respond to specific business events, even handling complex multi-step work without requiring highly detailed prompts.

Copilot tailors its output based on business information in a company's applications, gathering data through Microsoft IQ, a service being enhanced as part of the update. Microsoft IQ can now access information stored in Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, with Dynamics 365 storing customer records and Power Platform offering a suite of products for data visualization, task automation, and more.

Microsoft plans to release several additional enhancements to Copilot in the near future, including an interface section that will display the user's most important outstanding tasks and complete some of them automatically, as well as a feature that will eliminate the need for workers to manually switch between Copilot's Chat and Code modes.