Microsoft wants its AI to evolve from just answering your questions to actually starting and completing tasks for you. That’s the whole idea behind Microsoft Copilot Cowork, which launched through the Frontier program earlier this year.
Since then, it has gained several features allowing people to manage their email inboxes, conduct research, generate documents, and build web pages. Today, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, announced a set of new capabilities that take Cowork quite a bit further.
What’s new with Cowork?
The first big update is that Cowork is finally coming to your smartphone and is now available on iOS and Android. The idea is simple: you think of a task on your commute or between meetings, hand it off to Cowork, and come back to a finished result. You don’t have to be at your laptop for it to keep working. It’s similar to Claude Dispatch, which Anthorpic launched in March of this year.
The second update is Cowork Skills. A skill is essentially a saved set of instructions that tells Cowork how to handle a task your way, with your tone, structure, and process. Microsoft is rolling out built-in skills for common workflows like creating documents, coordinating meetings, and conducting research.
You can also build your own custom skills, which is great for recurring work or team processes you want to standardize.
What else do you get with this new update?
Copilot Cowork is also getting deeper integrations across Microsoft 365, including Power BI through Fabric IQ and Dynamics 365 for sales and customer service workflows. Third-party connectors for Miro, monday.com, LSEG, and S&P Global Energy are also coming soon.
The new connectors will greatly enhance Copilot’s capabilities, allowing you to fetch data from connected services to create reports, pitch decks, and more.
Copilot Cowork is still rolling out through the Frontier program, but Microsoft is moving fast. If you want AI that actually does the work rather than just describing it, this is worth checking out.