Microsoft Copilot Cowork AI agent launches globally to handle entire workplace projects

Microsoft makes Copilot Cowork open to everyone, and wants to help you tackle even the trickiest work tasks

* Microsoft and Anthropic reveal Copilot Cowork * Anthropic AI platform gives Copilot the ability to really dig deep into work tasks * Tool will be able to cover the entire Microsoft 365 platform Microsoft has announced its Copilot Cowork platform will now be generally available to Microsoft 365 Copilot users worldwide. First revealed in March 2026, Cowork combines the power of Microsoft's own Copilot offering with some of the most powerful AI tools from Anthropic's Claude Cowork platform. The aim, the companies say, is to turn AI assistants from an interested observer into a full-on helper, giving you all the tools you need to get work done intelligently. Copilot Cowork In a blog post announcing the news, Charles Lamanna, EVP, Copilot, Agents and Platform at Microsoft, noted "more than half of the Fortune 500 is using Copilot Cowork" following its initial preview launch. "We have been impressed by your creativity and what you have all built with it," Lamanna added, describing use cases ranging from batch-editing spreadsheets, comparing thousands of files across two product versions, and evaluating at-risk opportunities for sales teams. "Cowork is the fastest growing feature in the history of our Frontier program, and Cowork has among the highest user satisfaction of any Copilot or agent experience we have shipped," he said. "We learned from what we saw, engaged with you along the way, and used everything we heard to improve quality and add new features, including model choice, extensibility through plugins, and new cost management controls." To mark its general release, Microsoft has added a few extra tools to Copilot Cowork as it looks to make the service as useful as possible. First is a greater choice in which AI model you utilize - at general availability, Copilot Cowork now runs on popular Anthropic models including Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. In Frontier access, customers can also access GPT 5.5, with Cowork 1 coming soon, with Microsoft's latest model removing model bias and helping to deliver enterprise-grade performance at a substantially lower cost for everyday Copilot tasks, helping organizations manage cost-sensitive workloads. Elsewhere, Microsoft is introducing new partner plugins for Copilot Cowork, with nine partners available immediately, including the likes of Monday.com, Miro and Moodys, with eight more coming soon, including workplace heavyweights such as Adobe, Atlassian, Box and Canva. Frontier users can now use Copilot Cowork to get online via a local Edge browser, expanding the range of tasks it can complete on behalf of users. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Microsoft's newest AI agent wants to take entire projects off your plate

Microsoft is expanding its ambitions for workplace AI with the general availability of Copilot Cowork, an agentic system designed to handle complex tasks from start to finish rather than simply offering suggestions. After spending three months in Microsoft's Frontier preview program, the company says Copilot Cowork is already used by more than half of the Fortune 500, alongside organizations such as Accenture, Zurich Insurance, Capital Group, and others. The rollout marks one of the fastest-growing launches in the history of Microsoft's Frontier program, according to the company. Copilot Cowork wants to do the work, not just suggest it Unlike traditional AI assistants that generate drafts or answer questions, Copilot Cowork is designed to execute long-running, multi-step workflows on a user's behalf. Microsoft says customers have already used the system to compare thousands of files across product versions, automate spreadsheet-heavy workflows, generate dependency charts, and identify stalled sales opportunities. The company attributes that capability to a combination of cloud-based processing, enterprise security controls, and what it calls Work IQ -- a context engine that allows the AI to pull information from the tools and systems businesses already use. Microsoft is also emphasizing flexibility. Copilot Cowork can tap into different AI models depending on the task, rather than locking customers into a single model. At launch, the service runs on Anthropic's Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6 models, while Frontier customers can also access GPT-5.5. A new in-house model, Cowork 1, is expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Microsoft's latest AI agent comes with a different pricing strategy Copilot Cowork requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, but its usage is billed separately through a consumption-based model. Instead of paying a flat fee, organizations are charged according to the resources required for each task, including model usage, context retrieval, tool calls, and runtime. To help businesses estimate costs, Microsoft says it has identified three common categories of work: light, medium, and heavy tasks. These range from simple requests involving limited reasoning to large-scale jobs that pull data from multiple sources and require deeper analysis. The company argues that this approach allows organizations to scale usage based on need rather than paying for unused capacity. Microsoft also claims internal testing showed Copilot Cowork to be roughly 30% to 40% cheaper per prompt than competing enterprise AI offerings using Microsoft 365 connectors. With Copilot Cowork now available worldwide, Microsoft is betting that the next phase of workplace AI isn't about generating content faster -- it's about handing entire projects to an AI agent and letting it bring back the finished work.

Microsoft's Copilot Cowork Feature Rolls Out Globally for These Customers

* Customers pay for usage through Copilot Credits * Users can automate complex tasks across multiple tools * Organisations can set budgets and spending limits Microsoft has made Copilot Cowork generally available to Microsoft 365 Copilot customers worldwide after a three-month preview programme. The AI-powered service is designed to automate complex workplace tasks that involve multiple tools, data sources, and business applications. The broader rollout introduces new administrative controls, additional third-party integrations, expanded compliance features, and support for multiple AI models. According to Microsoft, more than half of the Fortune 500 used Copilot Cowork during the preview period, alongside organisations such as Accenture, Avanade, Capital Group, Koch, Ooredoo Qatar, and Zurich Insurance. Copilot Cowork Price and Availability Copilot Cowork is now available globally to Microsoft 365 Copilot customers. Access requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot User Subscription Licence, while usage is billed separately through Copilot Credits. Microsoft said pricing is determined by factors such as model usage, information retrieval, tool activity, and runtime requirements. Customers can choose between a pay-as-you-go model and a prepaid commitment option called P3. Under the pay-as-you-go plan, Copilot Credits are priced at $0.01 (roughly Rs. 0.94) each. The company has also introduced spending controls that allow administrators to manage access, create budgets, set spending limits, configure alerts, and monitor usage across organisations. Microsoft said billing begins immediately. However, organisations that participated in the Frontier preview programme between March 30 and June 16 will not be charged for Copilot Cowork usage until July 1. Copilot Cowork Features and Integrations Microsoft said Copilot Cowork can execute extended workflows and return completed outputs instead of suggestions or drafts. The service runs in the cloud and draws information from Microsoft 365 systems to support task execution. The general availability release also expands the range of AI models available through Copilot Cowork. The service currently supports Anthropic's Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6 models, while GPT 5.5 remains available through the Frontier programme. Microsoft also announced that a new model, Cowork 1, will launch in the coming weeks. The company said the model has been developed to handle enterprise workloads at a lower operating cost. The rollout introduces several new integrations for Copilot Cowork. Plugins from Enosix, Harvey, LSEG, Miro, monday.com, Moodys, Morningstar, S&P Global Energy, and TeamsMaestro are available immediately. Integrations from Adobe, Atlassian, Box, Canva, CB Insights, Databricks, MoneyForward, and Templafy are scheduled to arrive later. Fabric and Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, and ERP applications are now also generally available on the platform. Copilot Cowork now supports audit logs, Data Security Posture Management, eDiscovery, Insider Risk Management, Data Lifecycle Management, and Communication Compliance. Microsoft said Data Loss Prevention capabilities will arrive later. The update also brings browser-based actions through Edge. Data Loss Prevention support will be added in a future update. The release also enables browser-based actions through Edge.