Microsoft has announced Copilot Cowork, a new feature for Microsoft 365 Copilot designed to carry out tasks across workplace applications such as Outlook, Teams, Excel, and shared files.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared the announcement on X on Monday, describing Cowork as a system that can take a request from a user and turn it into a series of actions across their work tools.
“When you hand off a task to Cowork, it turns your request into a plan and executes it across your apps and files, grounded in your work data and operating within M365’s security and governance boundaries,” Nadella wrote.
Announcing Copilot Cowork, a new way to complete tasks and get work done in M365.
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) March 9, 2026
When you hand off a task to Cowork, it turns your request into a plan and executes it across your apps and files, grounded in your work data and operating within M365’s security and governance… pic.twitter.com/UT2Z50J7F7
The feature is built in collaboration with Anthropic and incorporates technology related to the company’s Claude Cowork system. It is being integrated directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant for workplace productivity tools.
According to Microsoft, the goal is to move Copilot beyond answering questions and toward completing work on behalf of users.
“Over the last year, we have been pushing Copilot toward taking action,” said Charles Lamanna, president of Business Applications and Agents at Microsoft, in a post on the Microsoft 365 blog. “That means completing tasks, running workflows, and doing work on your behalf. Copilot Cowork is built for that.”
Damilare Odedina
How Copilot Cowork works
Copilot Cowork begins by turning a user’s request into a structured plan. It then gathers context from workplace data — including emails, meetings, spreadsheets, and documents — through a system Microsoft calls Work IQ.
From there, the system executes tasks in the background across Microsoft 365 applications.
Before actions are completed, the tool pauses at checkpoints for user approval. Users can confirm, modify, pause, or cancel tasks at any stage, and the system asks for clarification if additional information is needed.
Tasks Copilot Cowork can handle
Microsoft says the system currently supports several categories of work across Microsoft 365 tools.
Calendar management:
Cowork can review Outlook schedules, flag scheduling conflicts or low-priority meetings, and suggest changes. Once approved, it can accept, decline, or reschedule meetings, create focus blocks, and send preparation materials ahead of meetings.
Meeting preparation:
The system can generate briefing documents by pulling information from emails, previous meetings, and company files. It can also create presentation decks, schedule preparation time on calendars, and draft follow-up emails summarizing key decisions.
Research tasks:
Cowork can collect information such as earnings reports, SEC filings, analyst commentary, and relevant news. It organizes the findings into an executive summary, a research memo with citations, and an Excel workbook containing structured data.
Product launch planning:
For business planning tasks, Cowork can build competitive comparison tables in Excel, write value-proposition documents, generate pitch decks, and outline project milestones with assigned responsibilities.
Microsoft says the system operates within Microsoft 365’s existing security and compliance framework, with all actions recorded and auditable in a sandboxed cloud environment.
Availability and related announcements
Copilot Cowork is currently available in research preview for a limited group of customers. Microsoft plans to expand access through its Frontier program in late March 2026.
The launch is part of Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which also introduces Anthropic’s Claude models into Copilot chat alongside models from OpenAI.
Microsoft also announced two additional products that will become generally available on May 1:
- Microsoft 365 E7 – The Frontier Suite, an enterprise bundle priced at $99 per user that combines Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Agent 365.
- Microsoft Agent 365, a platform for managing AI agents across organizations, is priced at $15 per user.
Damilare Odedina
