Microsoft is combining its home and workplace Copilot experiences into one product aimed at business users, adding deeper document editing and task automation as it shifts its emphasis toward office work.
The redesigned Copilot, announced on September 25 after a preview for business and technology leaders in Seattle, brings features from the separate consumer assistant into the workplace product. Microsoft says the update will roll out in the coming weeks.
Users will be able to edit Word and Excel documents inside the Copilot app or a browser tab, addressing complaints that the assistant had limited access to Microsoft’s own productivity software. A coding-assistant tab is intended to help users build dashboards and automate tasks. Scout, the company’s always-on workplace assistant, is being renamed Autopilot and added to the package.
Some consumer-oriented capabilities, including tools for health questions, studying, and finding news and information, will remain in the unified app. Custom podcasts and an animated conversation avatar are being retired. Product leader Jacob Andreou said the company’s focus is helping people get work done rather than building a personal companion.
The change follows a difficult effort to establish Copilot as a standalone consumer chatbot while ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini expanded their reach. Microsoft executives said the arrival of Meta’s Muse showed interest in AI automation, but argued that Copilot’s opportunity lies in applying those capabilities to office workflows.
Microsoft said businesses had more than 30 million Copilot subscriptions at the end of June, while its Microsoft 365 bundle had about 90 million paying users. GHD, an engineering and professional-services firm, has rolled Copilot out to 12,000 employees after an initial 300-person trial in late 2023. Staff use it for meeting summaries, email management, client pitches and analysis.