At Microsoft’s Ignite conference today, the software giant is introducing Copilot Actions, a new way for Microsoft 365 Copilot users to automate repetitive tasks. Microsoft is also adding AI agents to SharePoint, allowing PowerPoint to translate entire presentations and making Copilot work better in Outlook to find the best time for meetings.
Copilot Actions, now in private preview, allow everyone to automate repetitive daily tasks. This could include automating a summary of Teams meeting actions, generating weekly reports, or even automating meeting preparation. Copilot Actions is designed to be something you set and forget, sort of like an AI-powered macro that triggers and does its thing based on a few fill-in-the-blank prompts.
Microsoft is also working on improvements to Microsoft 365 Copilot in various Office apps. PowerPoint users will be able to translate their presentations early next year into one of 40 available languages. PowerPoint’s Copilot Narrative Builder will also draw on branded templates, speaker notes, and built-in transitions and animations to create a better first draft of a presentation. Copilot will also be able to use images from SharePoint to integrate them into PowerPoint presentations.
Copilot in Excel will soon include a new getting started experience that suggests templates with headers, formulas, and visuals for creating a spreadsheet. Microsoft is also working on improving Copilot in Outlook to better schedule one-on-one meetings with colleagues at the best time and create a meeting agenda. This will be available to Copilot users in Outlook by the end of this month.
Microsoft also tried to sell business on the market idea of Copilot Agents in recent months, particularly agents for sales, service and finance. Now, Microsoft is bringing AI agents to SharePoint so you can summarize documents, ask questions about data in SharePoint files, and create custom agents that can handle AI responses on a specific SharePoint site or list of files.