Microsoft Announces 'Copilot Cowork,' a New Feature in Microsoft 365 that Uses AI to Automate PC Tasks, Integrating Anthropic's 'Claude Cowork' Technology
On March 9, 2026 local time, Microsoft announced ' Copilot Cowork, ' a new feature for its subscription service
Copilot Cowork: A new way of getting work done | Microsoft 365 Blog
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-work-done/
A look closer at Work IQ | Microsoft Community Hub
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/a-closer-look-at-work-iq/4499789
Announcing Copilot Cowork, a new way to complete tasks and get work done in M365.
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) March 9, 2026
When you hand off a task to Cowork, it turns your request into a plan and executes it across your apps and files, grounded in your work data and operating within M365's security and governance… pic.twitter.com/UT2Z50J7F7
Copilot Cowork is an AI automation tool that automatically executes tasks based on emails, meetings, messages, files, data, etc. by simply communicating the desired outcome. It also features an intelligence layer called 'Work IQ,' which uses data stored in Outlook, Teams, Excel, and other Microsoft 365 features to execute tasks with a high level of understanding.
Microsoft's official YouTube channel features various examples of using Copilot Cowork. For example, in the video below, Copilot Cowork prioritizes tasks and reschedules the week's schedule.
Organize your week with Copilot Cowork - YouTube
First, let’s display a list of our weekly schedule on Copilot Cowork.
Next, you can select your goals and priorities for the week. You can also express your preferences, such as 'No meetings scheduled before 9:00 AM.'
Copilot Cowork followed my instructions and rescheduled my appointments for the week.
It can also draft an email to send to affected meeting organizers.
You can also let Copilot Cowork create presentations to take to meetings.
Meet Copilot Cowork: A New Way of Getting Work Done - YouTube
You can also give new instructions to Copilot Cowork as they create your presentation materials.
The finished document looks like this. Since all work is done within Microsoft 365, security and compliance are built in.
You can also have Copilot Cowork conduct the research and analysis for you.
Ask them to research the financials of a specific company and they'll comb through dozens of web sources to create a document your team can use.
The completed report looks like this:
The spreadsheet compiled useful data, including quarterly revenue trends and segment analysis.
Copilot Cowork can also help you create a launch plan, which is crucial when launching a new product.
Copilot Cowork is powered by Work IQ, giving you insight into your products, their release history, and their market positioning.
They will simultaneously handle important tasks for product launch, such as competitive analysis, creating a marketing message framework, and creating sales materials.
They also prepared presentation materials for clients.
Copilot Cowork is being developed in close collaboration with Anthropic, the developer of the chat AI Claude, and is integrating the technology behind Anthropic's PC-control AI, Claude Cowork . Microsoft stated, 'This multi-model advantage is what sets Copilot apart. Work isn't limited to a specific brand of model. Copilot leverages the best innovations from across the industry and selects the model that best suits the job, regardless of who developed it.'
At the time of writing, Copilot Cowork is being tested by a limited number of users as a Research Preview and is expected to be widely available in the Frontier early access program from late March 2026.
Microsoft also announced Microsoft 365 E7, which integrates Copilot, Agent 365 , a secure AI agent, and various security stacks with its existing enterprise subscription plan, Microsoft 365 E5. Microsoft 365 E7 will be available for purchase from May 1, 2026, for $99 per user per month (approximately 15,600 yen).
Introducing the First Frontier Suite built on Intelligence + Trust - The Official Microsoft Blog
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/
Powering Frontier Transformation with Copilot and agents | Microsoft 365 Blog
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/powering-frontier-transformation-with-copilot-and-agents/
Secure agentic AI for your Frontier Transformation | Microsoft Security Blog
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/03/09/secure-agentic-ai-for-your-frontier-transformation/
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