- Copilot Cowork is Microsoft’s comprehensive autonomous AI assistant
- Anthropic models also available alongside OpenAI’s in Copilot
- Agent 365, available soon, bundled into brand-new E7 plan
Microsoft has confirmed details of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s so-called ‘third wave’ shortly after rumors started circulating about a potential M365 E7 plan.
The company says this wave three has pushed AI past just simple assistance to completing tasks and executing workflows on behalf of users – in other words, it marks the shift from generative AI to agentic AI.
And despite a long-standing relationship with OpenAI and a heavy early reliance on GPT models, Copilot Cowork uses Anthopic models from the similarly named Claude Cowork.
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Microsoft 365 goes all-in on agentic AI
With the Anthropic-backed upgrade, M365 Copilot will be able to manage long-running, multi-step tasks that develop over time, making the AI far more akin to a human worker. The tool works by coordinating actions across apps and files for further context.
A separate post by Business Apps and Agents President, Charles Lamanna, shows agents working to clean up calendars and conducting detailed research. A video presented by Lamanna shared on LinkedIn also details how Copilot Cowork supports extra skills and plug-ins.
Anthropic’s Claude models will also be available within M365 Copilot Chat alongside the usual OpenAI models for more customization, should enterprises want that.
Microsoft boasted that, while Copilot users have grown 160% year-over-year, actual daily active users are up ten times, highlighting the need for better management.
For agent management, Microsoft is planning to make Agent 365 generally available from May 1, priced at $15 pe per month. The company drew parallels between A365 and existing people management tools in terms of observability, governance, management and security.
“In just two months, tens of millions of agents have appeared in the Agent 365 Registry,” Microsoft Commercial CEO Judson Althoff wrote about the platform’s preview customers.
And as for that rumored E7 plan? Well it’s coming with that exact naming structure, and it will cost $99 per user, which is cheaper than piecing each element together separately. The E7 plan, as previously speculated, comprises M365 E5, M365 Copilot and A365 all in one billing subscription.
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