Microsoft 365

Microsoft will shut down Excel's COPILOT() worksheet function on September 14, 2026, roughly a year after its preview launch. The company says the Copilot side pane already covers the same capabilities, so a planned 2027 general availability release has been scrapped.

Amazon has released Microsoft 365 extensions for its Quick AI assistant, embedding agentic capabilities directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. The extensions run entirely in the cloud, require no client-side installation, and connect to existing Quick data sources like Salesforce, Jira, Slack, and SharePoint.

Microsoft will merge its consumer Copilot app and Microsoft 365 Copilot into a single unified app starting mid-September 2026, letting users sign in with personal, work, or school accounts. Three features—group chats, podcasts, and Deep Research—will be retired on August 18.

OpenAI has designated its newly launched GPT-5.6 as the 'preferred model' for Microsoft 365 Copilot, powering Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Cowork. The announcement comes days after Bloomberg reported Microsoft is increasingly deploying its in-house MAI models to reduce reliance on OpenAI and cut costs.

Microsoft has launched Scout, an AI assistant built on the OpenClaw framework that operates across Microsoft 365. The system requires a GitHub Copilot subscription and includes policy conformance checks with audit trails to address security concerns about autonomous AI agents.

Microsoft is rolling out a redesigned Microsoft 365 Copilot that loads twice as fast, according to the company. The update introduces "progressive disclosure" — showing tools and controls contextually based on prompts rather than displaying all options at once.