Microsoft's 365 suite of productivity applications is the cornerstone of many businesses' everyday operations. To empower the suite with data-led intelligence, the tech company has infused 365 with its Copilot AI assistant -- and the latest release ups the ante on what Copilot can do for working professionals. 

Also: 3 clever ChatGPT tricks that prove it's still the AI to beat

On Wednesday, the company launched its Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 2 Spring release with add-ons, including the rollout of previously announced and some brand-new features, to enhance the Microsoft 365 experience. 

The new features

Many features focus on AI agents that can help working professionals get more done. For starters, Researcher and Analyst agents, which can conduct higher-level research and data analysis by leveraging existing OpenAI models, are rolling out in the new Agent Store starting today via the Frontier program. 

According to the press release, the new Agent Store will serve as a hub for AI agents, including your company's agents and those from partners, including Jira, Miro, and Monday.com. 

Also: Microsoft 365 Copilot's two new AI agents can speed up your workflow

Microsoft also launched its Skill Discovery agent, which uses the People Skills data layer to assist leaders in creating skills-based teams and helps employees find each other based on the capabilities they are searching for. 

The new Create feature allows users to access OpenAI's model GPT-4o to generate AI images that follow company-approved brand guidelines. Some practical applications include modifying brand images and creating images for PowerPoints and social assets, as seen at the top of the article.

The Copilot Notebooks feature allows you to add different aspects of your workflow, such as spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and meeting notes, to a notebook. You can then search this work using Copilot, a conversational chat interface. Microsoft describes Copilot Notebooks as a "collaboration partner". The feature is similar to Google's NotebookLM. 

Microsoft also introduced a new shortcut to help Windows 11 PCs access Copilot more easily. To access Microsoft Copilot Chat, users can click on the Copilot key and the Win + C shortcut. 

During Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration at the beginning of the month, the company unveiled many new features, including Copilot Search and Memory, which are now rolling out to Microsoft 365 users. 

Also: OpenAI's o1 lies more than any major AI model. Why that matters

Microsoft 365 Copilot Search allows users to conversationally ask questions regarding the organization's apps and data. This integration includes third-party apps, including Google Drive, Slack, and ServiceNow. Although it can not search the web in real time like Copilot Search can, it keeps the same conversational capabilities while grounding the answers in the user's Microsoft 365 data. 

Copilot will also have a Memory feature, which allows it to remember basic information about you to provide more personalized and high-quality answers. 

Microsoft Copilot Studio

Microsoft launched new features in the Copilot Control System to help IT administrators manage and govern AI agents. For example, the new features in Data Security Posture Management for AI with Purview provide IT administrators with a single dashboard to view and govern AI apps and agents, according to the release.

Also: Chatbots are distorting news - even for paid users

Similarly, Agent Management in the Microsoft 365 admin center lets IT administrators enable blocking agents for specific users. Lastly, the new Copilot Studio Agents Report gives IT insights into how employees use AI agents and the ROI and productivity gains of those actions. 

Artificial Intelligence

7 strategic insights business and IT leaders need for AI transformation in 2025

How I used this AI tool to build an app with just one prompt - and you can too

The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)

My 5 favorite AI apps on Android right now - and how I use them

• 7 strategic insights business and IT leaders need for AI transformation in 2025
• How I used this AI tool to build an app with just one prompt - and you can too
• The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)
• My 5 favorite AI apps on Android right now - and how I use them