Microsoft rolls its business AI into one Copilot app

Microsoft is bringing its business AI tools together in a single app, in a push to compete more directly with Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI in the market for AI at work.

The company is updating its Copilot app for corporate workers, folding years of separate AI products into one place.

Three new sections

The new version of the Copilot app adds three sections. Home combines chat with Microsoft's Cowork agent, which can take on tasks for workers. Code lets people build their own apps and tools by describing what they want. Autopilot lets people set up their own always-on AI agents to carry out work in the background.

Customers will pay for the Cowork, Code and Autopilot parts of the app based on how much they use them, similar to how businesses buy other AI products.

A slow start

Microsoft dominates business software through Office, used by hundreds of millions of workers, but its flagship workplace AI product has been slow to take off. Fewer than 7 per cent of Office 365 seats have licences for the AI add-on, according to figures reported by CNBC.

The competition

Anthropic's Claude has become a strong competitor in business and coding, and OpenAI has been expanding its own products for companies, including its ChatGPT Work agent. Microsoft is betting that combining AI tools in one familiar app will persuade more of its business customers to use them.

Why it matters

AI for businesses is one of the biggest prizes in the technology industry. Companies are spending heavily on tools that promise to automate routine work, write code and answer questions, and the providers that win those contracts stand to earn steady income for years.

For workers, the changes mean AI assistants are becoming a more visible part of everyday software, able not just to answer questions but to carry out tasks across email, documents and other applications.