Microsoft tests autonomous Copilot agents that monitor your inbox
Microsoft is testing a major update to 365 Copilot that introduces autonomous background agents. Inspired by the popular open-source framework OpenClaw, these agents will actively monitor your Outlook inbox and Teams calendar to suggest and complete tasks without waiting for a prompt. The system uses multiple artificial intelligence models to handle multi-step workflows across different Microsoft applications. It operates using role-specific permissions, meaning the agent theoretically only accesses data the user is cleared to see. The company plans to demonstrate the technology at its Build conference in June 2026. The shift aims to address complaints that current Copilot features require too much manual prompting to be useful.
Until now, using Copilot meant staring at a blank chat box and hoping you typed the exact right phrase to get a useful summary. If you did not explicitly ask the software to read an email thread or draft a response, it sat idle and cost your company thirty dollars a month for nothing. Users had to learn prompt engineering just to get basic value out of their Microsoft subscriptions. This update shifts Copilot from a reactive chatbot to a proactive assistant that works while you are away from your keyboard. By constantly scanning your communications, the software attempts to anticipate what you need before you ask. However, this constant monitoring also means any poorly configured document permissions in your company will immediately become a massive security liability once the AI starts acting on its own.
Analysis
Autonomous agents sound like a productivity dream until Copilot automatically drafts an email referencing a confidential payroll spreadsheet you forgot was accessible to the whole company. Stop worrying about finding the perfect prompt and spend this week auditing your SharePoint permissions. Tell your IT team to lock down Microsoft Purview labels immediately before these always-on agents turn your messy file architecture into a visible disaster.
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces. Cite as "Microsoft tests autonomous Copilot agents that monitor your inbox", Collab365 Spaces.