Microsoft’s Office apps are getting more useful Copilot AI features

Sep 16, 2024 10:00 PM - 4 months ago 148418

Microsoft is unveiling caller features successful its $30 per personification Microsoft 365 Copilot monthly subscriptions that are designed to amended AI integration wrong of Office apps. Excel is getting Python integration wrong of Copilot, PowerPoint has an improved AI-powered communicative builder, Word is getting amended astatine AI-assisted drafts, and Copilot will beryllium capable to thief you shape your Outlook inbox, too.

After bringing Python to Excel past year, Microsoft is now combining its Python support pinch Copilot to fto Excel users easy execute precocious study connected spreadsheet data. “Now, anyone tin activity pinch Copilot to behaviour precocious study for illustration forecasting, consequence analysis, instrumentality learning, and visualizing analyzable information — each utilizing earthy language, nary coding required,” says Jared Spataro, firm vice president of AI astatine activity astatine Microsoft. “It’s for illustration adding a skilled information expert to the team.”

Copilot’s Excel and Python integration.

Copilot’s Excel and Python integration.

Image: Microsoft

The Copilot and Python integration wrong of Excel enters nationalist preview today, conscionable arsenic Microsoft makes Copilot successful Excel mostly disposable to its Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers. Microsoft has besides added Copilot support for XLOOKUP and SUMIF, conditional formatting, and the expertise for the AI adjunct to nutrient much charts and PivotTables.

Copilot successful PowerPoint is besides getting improvements, pinch an improved communicative builder that’s designed to fto you quickly create a first draught of a descent deck. The AI adjunct will moreover soon usage a company’s branded template to create drafts aliases company-approved images from SharePoint libraries.

Copilot successful Microsoft Teams will summarize conversations that happened successful the matter chat arsenic good arsenic spoken ones successful meetings later this month. This will thief gathering organizers make judge they didn’t miss immoderate unanswered questions that were typed into the chat. “Our customers show america Copilot successful Teams has changed meetings everlastingly — successful fact, it’s the number 1 spot they’re seeing value,” says Spataro.

Copilot is getting much useful wrong of Outlook inboxes.

Copilot is getting much useful wrong of Outlook inboxes.

Image: Microsoft

I’ve personally been waiting for improvements to Copilot successful Outlook beyond drafting and summaries, and now Microsoft is starting to let its AI adjunct to shape your inbox. A caller “prioritize my inbox” characteristic lets Copilot automatically prioritize emails. Later this year, you’ll besides beryllium capable to “teach Copilot the circumstantial topics, keywords, aliases group that are important to you,” according to Spataro. These emails will past besides beryllium marked arsenic precocious privilege successful your inbox.

Later this month, Microsoft is besides improving Copilot successful Word to fto you reference information from emails and meetings, alongside information from documents. This will make it easier to bring successful attachments from emails aliases full talking points from meetings. Microsoft is besides rolling retired Copilot successful OneDrive later this month, making it easy to summarize and comparison up to 5 files to spot differences betwixt them.

Microsoft’s improvements to Copilot successful Office are designed to make the AI adjunct much enticing to businesses, alongside a caller Copilot Pages feature and AI agents that will automate definite tasks. Recent reports person suggested location has been a lukewarm reception to Microsoft’s paid Copilot type for businesses, owed to bugs and a reluctance to salary the $30 per personification price.

Microsoft says 60 percent of the Fortune 500 now usage Copilot and that the number of group who usage Copilot regular astatine activity “nearly doubled quarter-over-quarter.” Both of these information points look to see the free type of Copilot. Microsoft has won complete a large customer for Microsoft 365 Copilot: Vodafone is signing up for 68,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses for its 100,000 employees, aft trialing the AI adjunct and seeing early benefits.

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