Microsoft Bolsters Copilot with Agentic Features and Coding Capabilities

Microsoft has rolled out an update to its Copilot AI assistant, bundling agentic features and coding capabilities in a bid to enhance productivity for knowledge workers. The company announced that the updated app will include three tabs: Home, which offers conversational chat and task-delegation; Code, which lets users build custom tools using GitHub technology; and Autopilot, which serves as a productivity assistant.

The move follows recent agentic coding and knowledge work offerings from Anthropic, which may have influenced the timing of the rollout. Gartner Senior Director Analyst Larry Cannell said that Microsoft's decision to release the update now suggests how competitive the market has become.

The updated Copilot app will be charged based on usage, not seats, aligning with Microsoft's other AI products. This shift towards bundling features aims to pull more of its longtime software product users toward its agentic AI offerings, a strategy employed by competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI with success.