Microsoft Expands Copilot with Agentic Editing and In-App Web Browsing
Microsoft has announced a series of updates to its Copilot AI assistant, introducing agentic editing features in its Office suite and integrating in-app web browsing for Windows Insiders. These updates expand the assistant's ability to act directly on user content and maintain browsing context within its interface.
Office Suite: In-Place Editing Features
Microsoft has made generally available new 'agentic' features for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These capabilities allow Copilot to edit documents, modify spreadsheets, and build presentations directly within the application, rather than only providing suggestions.
Key details:
- Copilot can now perform actions on behalf of users within Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- The features are enabled by default but require user activation via a prompt.
- Users can review changes and observe Copilot during multi-step edits.
- Users retain the ability to disable Copilot entirely.
Context: Microsoft has integrated Copilot across multiple products, including Windows and GitHub. The company states that the new default experience is proving more useful based on early customer feedback.
Critics, including Mozilla, have argued that Microsoft is making Copilot unavoidable. Discussions of Copilot's terms have noted that the AI may be unreliable for important decisions.
Windows Insider: In-App Web Browsing
Microsoft is rolling out an update for Copilot to Windows Insiders that integrates web browsing directly into the assistant. This update allows links to open in a side panel within Copilot's window.
Key features:
- Content from links displays within the Copilot assistant's window.
- Copilot can access the context of tabs opened within a conversation, with explicit user permission.
- Opened tabs are saved with the conversation for future access.
- Users can opt to allow Copilot to save login credentials for web pages requiring authentication.
Availability:
- The updates are accessible on all Insider channels for Copilot app versions 146.0.3856.39 and higher.
- Initial availability may be restricted to certain regions.
- Microsoft intends to gradually expand the rollout to testers globally.
- The update is currently a preview and may undergo further changes.
Industry response: Bruce Lawson, Technical Communications Officer for Vivaldi, stated that if the feature is not opt-in, it deviates from user expectations regarding default browser behavior. He noted that users expect links to open with their preferred settings, stored passwords, and security configurations.
The potential impact on competition regulations such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) was also mentioned by observers. Some have suggested that embedding web viewing capabilities into Copilot could encourage users to remain within Microsoft's ecosystem.
Microsoft's position: Microsoft has acknowledged receipt of questions regarding whether the experience will be opt-in and which browser engine is utilized, but has not provided a detailed response.
Additional Updates
The Copilot app is receiving other enhancements, including Podcasts, and Study and Learn mode from Copilot.com. Some features may be temporarily removed during this iteration phase, with plans to reintroduce priority features before the updated app's general release.
Prior issues:
Previous reports related to Copilot include a bug that granted the chatbot unauthorized access to confidential emails in Outlook's sent and draft folders. Additionally, reports have indicated internal resistance within Microsoft, with the company considering scaling back some planned rollouts.