Microsoft launches Agent Mode and Office Agent for 365 Copilot

Microsoft has launched Agent Mode in Office apps and Office Agent in Copilot chat, introducing advanced AI-powered assistance to Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. This release targets Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers as well as Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers, with initial availability through the Frontier program. Agent Mode is accessible in Excel and Word on the web, with desktop versions planned for a future update. Office Agent is currently available for US-based subscribers using Microsoft 365 Copilot on the web in English.

These new features utilize OpenAI’s latest reasoning models and Anthropic models to automate multi-step tasks, generate high-quality documents, and perform iterative improvements. Agent Mode in Excel can handle complex analysis, generate formulas, and create visualizations based on user prompts. In Word, Agent Mode transforms document creation into a conversational process, suggesting refinements and clarifications. Office Agent in Copilot chat allows users to create presentations and documents directly through chat prompts, performing live research and quality checks during content generation.

Compared to previous iterations of Copilot, Agent Mode offers deeper task orchestration and the ability to evaluate and verify results in real time. According to Microsoft's internal benchmarks, Agent Mode in Excel performs with 57.2% accuracy on a range of spreadsheet tasks, highlighting progress in AI-driven productivity tools. Early reactions from industry experts and users point to an increased ability for non-experts to leverage advanced Office features and a shift toward collaborative workflows between humans and AI assistants.

Microsoft, the company behind this release, continues to expand Copilot’s capabilities within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. This launch aligns with their strategy to democratize advanced productivity tools and bring AI-driven workflows to mainstream Office users, reinforcing their competitive stance in workplace AI solutions.

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