Microsoft 365 Copilot: New Navigation, Voice, and Context Enhancements Arriving Soon

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Here are three new updates to the user interface of Microsoft Copilot. These releases improve usability, expand interaction options, and streamline how users incorporate work content into prompts. All three of these features were actually announced "a long time ago", and the initial release started almost 6 months ago. But I guess the setup is complicated, as the rollout hasn't completed yet. This only proves the importance of paying attention to the official roadmap and the tenant message center in order to understand when features are being implemented for your organization. Timelines may continue to evolve as deployments progress, and this summary includes the official reference IDs and documentation links for verification. Refreshed Navigation Experience There is a redesigned navigation experience for the Microsoft 365 Copilot app heading your way, delivering a cleaner, more efficient layout. The update flattens the menu structure and groups related components to help...

Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier: Finally available world wide.

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Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier program:

Back in March, Microsoft the release of two new and promising agents: The researcher and The analyst agents. Initially these two agents were launched in the U.S. as part of what has been called the "Frontier" program. Frontier is designed to give Microsoft 365 Copilot-licensed users access to experimental, high-impact features that are still in development—allowing users to shape the future of AI in the workplace. This early-access initiative is now available worldwide, offering organizations a first look at cutting-edge AI capabilities before they become mainstream.

The Researcher and Analyst agents are built on OpenAI’s advanced models and integrated deeply with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Here is a short description of their features:

Researcher (Frontier)

Think of Researcher as your AI-powered research assistant. It combines OpenAI’s deep research capabilities with Microsoft’s orchestration and search tools to help users tackle complex, multi-step research tasks. Whether you're pulling insights from internal documents, third-party data, or the web, Researcher can synthesize it all into coherent, actionable outputs.

Analyst (Frontier)

Analyst is optimized for advanced data analysis. It uses OpenAI’s o3-mini model and chain-of-thought reasoning to iteratively solve problems—just like a human analyst would. It can even run Python code in real time, allowing users to view and verify the logic and outputs behind the scenes. This transparency is a game-changer for data-driven teams. 

How to make sure they are available to your users (or not):

  1. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Copilot → Settings
  2. Under User Access, select "Copilot Frontier"
  3. Set access to “All Users” or “Specific Users under "Web and Mobile apps" (Microsoft 365 Insiders can also benefit from getting new features directly to their desktop apps)
  4. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Copilot → Agent & Connectors
  5. Search for "Frontier" and make sure both agents are set available for your users (You may also deploy the app directly from this view.
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