As technology consultants and Microsoft licensing experts, we do our best to stay abreast of all the happenings in Redmond, WA. To that end, we want to let our clients know that Microsoft recently announced a batch of new functions for Copilot in Microsoft 365. Company executives say the added functionality should "unlock Copilot's ability to drive bottom line business results for every organization."

So what are the new functions, exactly? They were recently announced at Microsoft's 2024 Build event. The new functions involve SharePoint, Copilot Studio, Team Copilot, and more. Let's get into the details.

Customization in SharePoint

The first change of note is the addition of custom Copilot assistants in Microsoft's SharePoint platform. SharePoint users will be able to build their own Copilot assistants to make the SharePoint experience more efficient.

A customized Copilot can access all documents and files inside the environment. It should also be able to quickly locate files, share surface information from designated documents, and more. Microsoft says the public release of customized Copilots will happen later this year (a specific date hasn't been assigned).

Copilot Agents for Business Processes

Next up are Copilot Agents brought to users by way of Microsoft's Copilot Studio. First released last year, Copilot Studio links Copilot AI solutions to external sources. Agents have been added to make the experience more productive and intelligent.

Copilot Agents are designed to enhance multi-step business processes. They run autonomously and can perform very complex tasks – even within multi-layered environments. One of the examples cited by Microsoft is order fulfillment. A custom Copilot Agent could manage everything from processing the original order to making substitutions to getting the order out the door.

Although Microsoft has announced Copilot Agents, it is not yet ready for primetime. The company has plans to release a preview version sometime this year. When it could be ready for public release is unclear.

Enhancing Copilot With Extensions

Perhaps the most exciting new function announced by Microsoft is the ability to enhance Copilot with user extensions. Similar to plugins for the WordPress content management system, Copilot extensions will allow users to enhance tool capabilities across the entire Microsoft 365 landscape. For example, an organization could build its own extension to improve data reporting capabilities.

Organizations will not be limited to their own extensions exclusively. Microsoft says customers will be able to take advantage of third-party extensions as well, opening a whole new market for Copilot development.

Team Copilot

Following Microsoft's decision to separate Teams in response to legal issues in Europe, they have begun developing new capabilities for Copilot group use. One such initiative is known as Team Copilot. Team Copilot is essentially a generative AI assistant designed for groups rather than individuals. What would be the benefit of this function?

Team Copilot's strength is the ability to handle repetitive and time-consuming administrative tasks. Microsoft cites the example of using the tool within the Microsoft Teams app. The tool could manage everything from recording meeting notes to creating agendas and summarizing lengthy chat threads for easier consumption.

As with all the other new functions, Team Copilot isn't ready to go quite yet. Microsoft says the tool will be available to users with Copilot from Microsoft 365 licenses later this year.

It would appear as though Microsoft is going all in on their Copilot AI technology. They seem to be committed to fully integrating the tool across every part of the MS ecosystem. As Microsoft 354 managed services and Microsoft licensing experts, we will be here to assist you as you implement Copilot into your own business operations.