Microsoft is enlarging its family of generative Copilots, introducing new AI assistants in its collaborative Teams and SharePoint platforms. Team Copilot expands Copilot beyond the sphere of personal assistant, empowering it to work on behalf of a team with the goal of improving collaboration and project management. Team Copilot will have agents that provide the ability to orchestrate and automate business processes, as well as extensions and connectors designed to make it easy to tailor and extend Copilot to meet specific business needs. Copilot is also launching in preview for all Azure customers.

The updates “are aimed at accelerating the company’s mission to bring its generative AI virtual assistant experience to every user” at customer touchpoints including the web, the cloud and personal computers, says SiliconANGLE.

Microsoft launched its AI Copilot for Windows in September 2023, integrating it in its Bing search and Edge browser. The following month it was added to the business version of its flagship Microsoft 365 productivity suite, including Office.

Its absence in one of “Microsoft’s most important enterprise tools — Microsoft Teams,” was sorely felt, according to SiliconANGLE, noting that “Copilot is powered by OpenAI’s advanced large language models, such as GPT-4 Turbo, which are combined with the company’s search capabilities to provide chat and collaborative experience for users across a variety of platforms.”

The Team Copilot capabilities will be available in preview later in 2024 for customers with a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license, Microsoft explains in a news post that includes demo video.

“Besides Microsoft Teams, Team Copilot will also be integrated directly within Microsoft’s Loop and Planner tools, and will be able to perform work such as facilitating meetings, managing the agenda and taking notes to ensure user’s discussions are more productive,” SiliconANGLE says.

Team Copilot can also function as a project manager, creating and assigning tasks and tracking deadlines. Mashable shares “7 things this new AI co-worker can do.”

Custom copilots in SharePoint and OneDrive data — “where so much of your organizational knowledge lives” — will enable nearly instant information location and retrieval “in just a few clicks.” The files can then be edited and enhanced using Copilot Studio. This capability is now available in a limited private preview, and will be available in preview later in 2024, Microsoft adds.

Previously available in early access, Copilot for Azure — which helps developers set up and manage cloud services — is launching in preview and getting enhanced functionality. “For instance, Copilot in Azure gains the ability to troubleshoot applications with performance issues simply by asking what’s up with them,” SiliconANGLE cites.

At Build 2024, the company also debuted Microsoft Places, designed to make coordinating remote and in-office time easier.

Related:
Microsoft’s Power Automate No-Code Platform Adds AI Flows, TechCrunch, 5/21/24
Microsoft Edge Will Dub Streamed Video with AI-Translated Audio, PCWorld, 5/21/24
Microsoft Copilot Will Watch You Play Minecraft, Tell You What You’re Doing Wrong, Ars Technica, 5/21/24
Truecaller Partners with Microsoft to Let Its AI Respond to Calls in Your Own Voice, TechCrunch, 5/22/24