Microsoft introduced Code last month as one of the three core parts of its revamped Copilot app. The app was pitched as an easy-to-use coding agent that lets users describe what they want to build in natural language, like an app, a tracker, a dashboard, an automation, or a workflow, and Copilot would build it for them.
Essentially, it’s a workplace-focused vibe-coding app that turns existing work into a functional app, and Microsoft has begun rolling it out through the Frontier program.
How it works
As already mentioned, Copilot Code starts by asking what you want to build in natural language. It can then use Work IQ to pull context from emails, meetings, documents, chats, and connected data, helping it work out requirements missing from the original prompt.
Once Copilot is done making the initial iteration of the app, users can refine it by giving the agents instructions in natural language. Users can also add visualizations, business logic, and new data sources without starting over. If you want to edit the underlying code, you will be able to edit it directly, work with local files, and use a terminal.
It can grow into a real software project
Apps can run locally or be published to Microsoft’s managed cloud environment and shared across an organization. If a project grows beyond something one person can maintain, it can be connected to a new or existing GitHub repository and turned into a draft pull request.
Microsoft says Copilot Code and GitHub Copilot use the same underlying agentic technology, but they are meant for very different people. Copilot Code is where someone can start with a work problem and build a solution around it, even if they are not a developer. If the project gets complicated enough to need proper engineering work, GitHub Copilot is where the developers can take over.