Microsoft connects Copilot to third-party apps via new agent store
Microsoft has launched a new wave of third-party agents inside the Microsoft 365 Copilot Agent Store. The update connects Copilot directly to external business applications including Figma, Miro, Box and Monday.com. These agents use the Model Context Protocol to embed live previews and interactive widgets directly into the chat interface. Users can now execute commands and edit files in these external platforms without switching browser tabs. IT administrators retain full control over deployment through the Microsoft 365 admin center. They can manage permissions and restrict which third-party agents are available to specific user groups.
Until now Copilot functioned as a walled garden that could only read and generate text within native Microsoft files. When a user needed to update a project board or check a design file they had to abandon the AI chat and manually log into a separate application. This context switching made the tool feel like a glorified text generator rather than a genuine productivity assistant. This update transforms Copilot from a passive reader into an active executor across your wider software stack. By piping external tools directly into the chat interface Microsoft is attempting to close the capability gap with ChatGPT. However this cross-platform functionality introduces severe data governance headaches for IT departments who must now audit how Copilot interacts with third-party databases.
Analysis
Your IT department will almost certainly panic and block these third-party agents by default to prevent data leaks. Pick a single external tool your team relies on heavily, like Monday.com, and submit a targeted request to whitelist just that one agent. Master a single cross-app workflow to show your boss actual return on investment instead of complaining that Copilot only writes generic emails.
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces. Cite as "Microsoft connects Copilot to third-party apps via new agent store", Collab365 Spaces.