Microsoft adds multi-step agent features to Copilot in Word Excel and PowerPoint
Microsoft has rolled out agentic capabilities in Word Excel and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Premium subscribers. These features let Copilot carry out multi-step tasks directly in the apps such as reformatting documents restructuring spreadsheets and building charts from data. Early results show weekly per-user engagement jumping 52 percent in Word 67 percent in Excel and 11 percent in PowerPoint. Excel users also report 65 percent higher satisfaction with the outputs. Users must review Copilots changes to match their needs. The features use advanced models and app context known as Work IQ for more reliable edits.
Before this users relied on Copilot for simple suggestions or one-off generations that often produced generic text disconnected from their specific files. In apps like Excel Copilot struggled with complex data tasks forcing manual tweaks or a switch to tools like ChatGPT which lack native Microsoft file smarts. Now Copilot acts more like a collaborative editor handling chains of actions grounded in document context. This lifts output quality in daily Office work where general AIs fall short making Copilot pull ahead for mid-sized teams chasing reliable M365 gains over scattered AI experiments.
Analysis
This finally gives Copilot an edge over Claude in Excel where your sales or report data lives natively—stop the tool-switching paralysis and own the app-specific wins your boss demands. Today in Excel pick a quarterly dataset prompt Copilot to clean format and chart trends by region then time the full process against ChatGPT and log the speedup for your next team huddle.
Citation
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