Trending Now - Microsoft Introduces Default Copilot Features in Office Apps

WHO:

The Verge - Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Office Product Group, is involved in the announcement of the new features.

WHAT:

The Verge - Microsoft is rolling out a new Agent Mode inside Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Techmeme - Copilot's agentic features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are now generally available and enabled by default for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers.

The Verge - The new Agent Mode allows Copilot to better follow commands and edits in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

WHERE:

The Verge - The new features are available in Microsoft Office applications, specifically Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

WHEN:

The Verge - The rollout of the new Agent Mode is occurring this week, specifically in April 2026.

WHY:

The Verge - The new Agent Mode was developed because previous foundation models were not powerful enough to allow Copilot to take direct action on documents.

The Verge - The improvements in instruction following, reasoning, and overall quality of models over the past year have enabled better handling of multi-step edits.

HOW:

The Verge - Users can watch the Copilot AI agent work in real time through a sidebar that shows every step Copilot is taking on a document.

The Verge - In Excel, Copilot can make changes directly in a workbook, adding formulas or tables, while in PowerPoint, it can update existing decks with fresh information while maintaining template styling.

(UPDATED April 23, 2026 19:24 UTC)

Microsoft is rolling out a new Agent Mode this week for its Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which will enhance the capabilities of the Copilot feature. This new mode allows Copilot to better follow commands and make edits in real time, with users able to see its actions through a sidebar, making it easier to manage documents and presentations. The improvements come after advancements in AI models over the past year, enabling Copilot to handle multi-step edits and directly modify content in Excel and PowerPoint.