Two new updates to Microsoft 365 Copilot for Word: Smarter Creation and Researcher agent

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What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Word Microsoft continues to evolve its Copilot capabilities in Word, bringing powerful new features that enhance productivity and streamline workflows. Two newly announced updates are rolling out this fall: First out of the gate is the integration of the Researcher Agent, allowing great content generation within Word itself. The second update is bringing more of the search and creation capabilities we have in Chat directly into Word. These updates represent a meaningful step toward closing the functionality gap between Copilot in Word and Copilot Chat. For me, this is a most welcomed improvement, making it easier for end users to get the results they want even faster, with less friction and more flexibility. Deep Research with the New Researcher Agent in Word Not too long ago, Microsoft introduced the Researcher agent in Copilot Chat, but moving and editing that content required copy/paste and jumping between applications. With this coming update...

New meeting feature coming soon, control what the audience can see

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The "Manage what attendees see" feature in Microsoft Teams is designed to help organizers deliver polished meetings or events by simplifying the attendee view and keeping the focus on participants who have been brought on screen. Previously, this was limited to webinars, but it seems this feature is coming as an option organizers can set on their meetings. Instead of automatically displaying shared content, it will first appear in the Manage screen’s left panel. An organizer or presenter must manually bring it on screen, preventing unintended interruptions and ensuring a smoother attendee experience. Additionally, presenters will now see their content displayed instead of a text message indicating they are sharing. For mobile users, only participants or content that has been brought on screen will be visible.

This is a different kind of meeting, where the intention is more of a one-to-many delivery, rather than a regular meeting. But I do think it makes it easier for users to organize these types of events with this new feature, rather than having to set up a dedicated webinar.

To configure the feature in an upcoming meeting (when the feature has become available to you), follow these simple instructions from Microsoft user guides.

According to the message center, this feature will start it's rollout in early April (already happening), and should be completed by the end of the month.