Microsoft Copilot Gets a Major Boost with Team Features, Custom Agents

Microsoft announced exciting new features for Copilot at Microsoft Build 2024, transforming it from a personal productivity tool to a powerful team collaborator and business process automation engine.

Key takeaways

• Team Copilot: This expands Copilot's capabilities beyond individual use. It can now participate in meetings, manage tasks, and collaborate on projects within Microsoft Teams, Loop, Planner, and other collaboration tools.

  • Imagine a meeting facilitator Copilot managing agendas and taking notes, or a group collaborator surfacing key information in chats and tracking action items.
  • Team Copilot will be available in preview later in 2024 for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license holders.

• Customizable Agents: Microsoft Copilot Studio empowers users to build custom "agents" that automate business processes. These intelligent assistants can:

  • Independently manage long-running processes.
  • Learn and adapt based on user feedback.
  • Leverage memory for contextual understanding.
  • An example use case: an order fulfillment copilot handling the entire process, from order placement to delivery.
  • Custom agents are currently in an Early Access Program.

• Simplified Custom Copilot Creation

  • Leverage existing knowledge within SharePoint and OneDrive to create custom copilots for information retrieval tasks.
  • This functionality is also in an Early Access Program.

• Copilot Extensions and Connectors

  • Developers can now create extensions using Copilot Studio or Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio, allowing for easier customization and integration with various data sources and business systems.
  • Copilot connectors streamline the extension creation process.
  • Learn more about these updates on the Copilot Studio blog.

These capabilities will be available in preview later in 2024 for customers with a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license.

Overall, these announcements position Copilot as a transformative tool for businesses, enabling:

• Increased team collaboration and productivity.
• Streamlined and automated business processes.
• Improved efficiency and cost savings.

Stay tuned for wider availability of these features later in 2024.