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...

Here are three copilot updates coming our way, and this is what to make of them

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Changes aimed at streamline workflows:

As Microsoft continues to evolve its AI-powered productivity suite, three significant updates are rolling out across Microsoft 365 in June and July 2025. These changes are designed to streamline workflows, enhance research capabilities, and bring generative AI closer to users in their daily apps.

Here is my summary of the three updates, and what you might want to be aware of.

Access SharePoint agents in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app

Some time ago, Microsoft introduced SharePoint Agents. These agents are integrated into the navigation, and users have to navigate to that specific site in order to access the agent. With this upcoming change, these agents can become available directly from the 365 Copilot App along other "recently used" agents list. This change will significantly reduce context-switching for users who rely on these agents for their daily tasks. Expect this rollout at the end of July.

Researcher Agent Integrated into Copilot Notebooks

The recently released Researcher Agent, already a powerful tool in Copilot Chat, is now going to be embedded directly into Copilot Notebooks. This integration allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources without leaving the Notebook environment. If you have not familiarized yourself with your personal Notebook, now is the time. It is a nice "hub" to add documents and URLS and to ask Copilot about your data. And in the near future, this also includes the Researcher capabilities without context switching. This update should also be available by late July

Copilot Chat Expands to Core Microsoft 365 Apps

One of the confusing elements of Copilot for users, has been to understand what copilot is and where to go to get the expected results. Copilot i Microsoft 365 apps has been a selling point all along, but in reality, the copilot within the apps could only work with the data in the open document. This is about to change, and copilot for Word will become Copilot in word with the new changes. In an upcoming update, the Copilot 365 Chat app will become available right within the 365 apps. Bringing features and functionalities we all have been waiting for. 
In order to always have the Copilot 365 chat available, users can select "Open chat pain automatically when I'm in word" from the Word settings (and similar settings in the other applications. 
This update should be rolling out by August.

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