Microsoft Copilot AI Gets Faster, Smarter and More Collaborative

Microsoft unveiled the next iteration of its virtual AI assistant Copilot on Monday, adding new AI features across its various apps, including Excel, Word and Outlook.

The update, which is powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o technology, is part of the company's efforts to make it easier for all users to access and use AI tools to do their work. In addition to the new capabilities, Microsoft said Copilot responds more than two times faster than the previous version.

Some of the updates include an AI-assisted collaborative canvas which allows multiple users to interact, edit and make changes at the same time. In a blog post, Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of AI at work at Microsoft, called it "an entirely new work pattern -- multiplayer, human-to-AI-to-human collaboration."

In Microsoft Teams, Copilot can now "reason" over a meeting transcript and meeting chat, enabling users to ask if there were any missed questions. A new feature in Outlook called Prioritize my Inbox can analyze and identify the most active email threads to prioritize insights and email summarizes, and even learn the users' leaders. Microsoft said users will soon be able to teach Copilot the specific topics, keywords and people that are most important to further help with prioritization. 

More AI integration is also coming to Microsoft Word, particularly with the ability to pull up web and work data, such as PowerPoint and PDFs, encrypted documents, emails and meeting notes.

For businesses, Microsoft is launching a previously announced tool called Copilot agents, which can execute menial tasks, such as monitoring inboxes or doing data entry, to free up time for employees. 

The company continues to double down on building out AI software for its products alongside touting AI-powered hardware. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a lineup of Copilot Plus PCs that are packed with AI tools and advanced processors, in an effort to stay ahead of the growing AI arms race and boost lagging PC sales.