New Year, New Momentum: Here are three Copilot updates to get you started into 2026

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It's a new year, so I thought I'd start the year by mentioning three features already released, or soon going to be released. One of the features improves the workflow of sharing files with comments, the other improves the application specific Copilot, and the last feature makes it easer to find the nest available timeslot for a 1:1 meeting. As with all of my other posts, timelines can shift, and the timelines in this post is as written in the Message Center at the time of posting. AI-Summary experience when sharing files. With this new feature, copilot intent to help users share files with clearer context in just a few steps. Users will get the capability to generate a concise summary of a file and include it when sharing from the File Explorer share dialog or the OneDrive activity center. This will make it easier to share the context of a file and giving the receiver a faster understanding of what a document or file contains before they open it. General Availability announced...

Python in excel and copilot is coming soon.

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The integration of Python in Excel for the web marks a significant enhancement for data analysis and automation, especially when it is added to Copilot. I think this is the one feature I hear my customers ask for the most when I do demos on Copilot in Excel.

Python in Excel with standard compute became generally available to all eligible users with access to Excel for Windows. But now, there is an upcoming rollout that will extend this availability to Microsoft Excel for the web, allowing all eligible users to utilize Python formulas in their workbooks without any installation. These formulas will be executed in a secure container on the Microsoft Cloud, ensuring enterprise-level security.

With this release, users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will also be able to leverage the Copilot in Excel with Python feature. This integration enables deeper data analysis by combining AI and Python capabilities within Excel. There will be a premium sku available, offering premium compute for faster calculations.

This update is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 471001, and hopefully it will be available for all by the end of March.