Have you heard about Copilot Cowork? This one is new to me! Hamish Sheild gives a great overview and bonus D365 Wave 1 Release slides for those that work in D365 Sales. Hamish Sheild, Thanks for sharing!

My experience, day 1 with Copilot Cowork Yesterday was my first time using Copilot Cowork. I was impressed with the results but also found that it introduces a new way of working that will take some getting used to. One task I gave it was to help prepare a short slide deck for the 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦 1 2026 session for the Wellington D365, Power Platform & AI User Group. The focus was on Sales agent features, including Sales in Microsoft 365 Copilot and the sales agents in Dynamics 365 Sales. This was the prompt I gave it: 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 365 2026 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 1. 𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 365 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 365 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 5–10 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 365 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴. Given how simple the prompt was, I was genuinely impressed with the output. It did a good job of condensing a huge amount of release wave information into the key updates that I felt people needed to know about. Exactly what you want when you’re short on time and drowning in release notes. Cowork didn't add the screenshots for me but gave me links to where to find them. What I’ve learned pretty quickly is that Copilot Cowork is a different AI experience. I’m used to short, iterative back-and-forth conversations with AI, starting with a rough draft and refining it over multiple passes. Cowork flips that model. You give it a larger set of tasks, let it plan and execute, and then it comes back with multiple outputs. Because those tasks take minutes rather than seconds, you need to slow down a bit and get used to providing clear input and context up front. It feels much closer to briefing a junior team member on a task you give them at the start of the day, knowing you won’t check in again until later. Attached is the slide deck that it produced. I’m curious to hear how others are finding Cowork and what you are using it for.

Along with the recent announcement of Microsoft 365 E7. One thing that caught my attention was Copilot Cowork. So far, Copilot has mainly helped assist with simple things like drafting an email, summarising a document, or answering questions. Copilot Cowork moves things a step further. Take a project as an example. Instead of manually creating a plan, breaking it into tasks, assigning task owners and chasing updates. You could say something like "Create a project plan for a customer rollout, assign tasks based on previous projects, set due dates and track progress. Copilot Cowork can then: - Look at related emails, meetings, files and conversations - Understand who normally works on what - Create and assign tasks - Keep the work moving in the background - Check in at key points so you can review, adjust, or approve changes All this is powered by Work IQ, understanding how you actually work. Copilot Cowork is currently in preview, with broader access expected late March via the Frontier program. Curious to see how this plays out in real customer environments but seems like a big step forward. #Microsoft365 #Microsoft365Copilot #Copilot #CopilotCowork #AI #ModernWork

Copilot and I haven't always been friends! In fact, for some time I would have described our relationship as… strained. For a long time, I used it because I had to, not because I wanted to. In many corporate environments, including mine, Copilot is the only approved AI tool, so if you want AI in your workflow, that’s the option. The challenge was that for a while it lagged behind what was happening elsewhere. Outside of work I’ve been using a range of AI tools quite extensively, and the gap in capability was obvious. Particularly inside the Office apps, where Copilot often felt more like a novelty than something genuinely useful. That gap has narrowed significantly over the past six months or so. With newer GPT models being integrated, Copilot has improved a lot overall. But within the Office apps, the really useful features have only started appearing in the last few months. Outlook was the first place I started to notice the shift. The meeting scheduling assistance has actually been great. It saves a surprising amount of time and removes a lot of the small coordination headaches that used to clutter the day. But Excel… Excel was another story. Until yesterday. I gave Copilot what was probably one of the worst prompts ever written. Vague, poorly structured, and not exactly a shining example of prompt engineering. I half expected it to do what it normally did in Excel and produce something mildly related but not actually useful, which is why I’d given it a pretty half-assed attempt at a prompt in the first place. Instead, it did exactly what I needed. First try. I was genuinely over the moon. My colleagues found it pretty funny too, particularly given the quality of the prompt that got me there. It was a small moment, but it felt like a turning point. For the first time, Copilot in Excel actually saved me effort rather than creating more work. As the trajectory of the last six months continues, Copilot inside Microsoft Office is becoming a real powerhouse… and my AI co-worker might finally be pulling its weight! #MicrosoftCopilot #ArtificialIntelligence #AIAtWork #FutureOfWork #Microsoft365 #Excel #Productivity #PromptEngineering

Okay, Copilot Cowork looks really cool. Microsoft and Anthropic (huge Claude fan)basically built an AI that runs your M365 work in the background while you focus on other things. Not just answering questions — actually doing the work across Outlook, Teams, Excel, SharePoint, and M365. Is $30/user/month a lot? Yes. But so is the time we spend on tasks this thing can handle. Midyear can’t come fast enough. #Microsoft365 #ModernWork #CopilotCowork #AI #FinancialServices https://lnkd.in/eava_TVp

Copilot Cowork. Very interesting developmet, reinforcing how the agents of 2026 are not chatbots but rather agents that make plans and execute real tasks--anything-you-want agents (cowork, open claw). I think this is going to be fascinating to watch and what this means for the bespoke agents that companies have been building. There will always be. need for structured agents and automations, but for many of the use cases, I find a Cowork approach to be superior in getting real work done, and the documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint decks produced with the Cowork approach are vastly superior to what Microsoft Copilot produced. Seeing Microsoft shift gears like this is quite breathtaking and refreshing. Anthropic built the copilot that Microsoft should have, and how Microsoft has adopted it. What I'm watching: how much cowork will get constrained to work in the heavily governed enterprise world Microsoft plays in. Will enterprise organizations be open to having their employees inboxes fully automated vs. the minimally helpful "compose a response" that Copilot give you today? I hope so (and the videos are showing email/inbox scenarios). https://lnkd.in/ezEEuRpp

Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 3, announced on March 9, 2026, marks a significant evolution in AI, transitioning from reactive tasks to proactive "agentic" workflows. This advancement allows Copilot to function as a partner that can create, edit, and refine content directly within Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Key features include: - Utilization of "Work IQ" for deep, context-aware editing across files and meetings. - Introduction of new agentic capabilities designed to enhance automation and facilitate multi-step tasks. For a detailed explanation of the key concepts behind the Copilot Cowork announcement, watch this video: https://lnkd.in/exfEh3X2.

Don't confuse Copilot capabilities and Copilot Coworker. Microsoft's new Copilot Coworker knows how your organisation works not just the org chart. Thanks to #WorkIQ, #Copilot #Coworker is an action-taking-AI and not just chat(this is Copilot). It is the brain and a memory system, allowing Copilot Coworker to behave like someone who actually works inside your organisation. It knows: 🏋️ what you’re working on 👀 who you work with 😴 how your projects connect 💡 what’s relevant right now 🛅 and what action makes sense next examples to follow

Why I'm still using CoPilot  I've always approached Copilot with the sense that maybe its not the most advance, but it is the most accessible. Maybe what it lacked in innovation and speed its made for in safety - But these are just some of the reasons I still use it everyday!  1. It lives where I already am. I'm in Microsoft 365 all day. Word, Outlook, Teams, Excel. The fact that Copilot is just... there - inside the tools I'm already using - means I actually use it. There's no switching tabs, no logging into another platform, no friction. It doesn't mean I don't opt for another Gen AI tool when I need some more power.  2. It makes my emails sound like me - but better. I have dyslexia, I have ADHD and sometimes my emails are all over the shop. Even though I love my brain, people also need to understand what i'm talking about something. Copilot drafts, I edit, edit again and the end result sounds like me - just the version of me that remembered to structure the thing properly and didn't leave three typos in the first paragraph. 3. It helps me use Excel like Excel is meant to be used.  Years ago I remember spending hours in a bonus spreadsheet, trying everything to figure out why a formula wouldn't work and how I could make a front sheet and a summary sheet and a graphics sheet. But because i never took a course and was on Youtube trying to figure out, it never did leave the draft stage. But now with Co pilot it helps me find the errors and help me fix them.  4. Meeting summaries. An absolute game changer I'm in back-to-back Teams calls and trying to remember what was actually agreed, using Copilot summarises the meeting, pulls out the actions, and means I'm not frantically scribbling notes while also trying to contribute to the conversation. I can just... be present.  Is it perfect? No.  But as a small business owner juggling all of these things give me the gift of time, and a professional edge!  There is so much more - But i'm not about to give it all away in a post

Why I'm still using CoPilot  I've always approached Copilot with the sense that maybe its not the most advance, but it is the most accessible. Maybe what it lacked in innovation and speed its made for in safety - But these are just some of the reasons I still use it everyday!  1. It lives where I already am. I'm in Microsoft 365 all day. Word, Outlook, Teams, Excel. The fact that Copilot is just... there - inside the tools I'm already using - means I actually use it. There's no switching tabs, no logging into another platform, no friction. It doesn't mean I don't opt for another Gen AI tool when I need some more power.  2. It makes my emails sound like me - but better. I have dyslexia, I have ADHD and sometimes my emails are all over the shop. Even though I love my brain, people also need to understand what i'm talking about something. Copilot drafts, I edit, edit again and the end result sounds like me - just the version of me that remembered to structure the thing properly and didn't leave three typos in the first paragraph. 3. It helps me use Excel like Excel is meant to be used.  Years ago I remember spending hours in a bonus spreadsheet, trying everything to figure out why a formula wouldn't work and how I could make a front sheet and a summary sheet and a graphics sheet. But because i never took a course and was on Youtube trying to figure out, it never did leave the draft stage. But now with Co pilot it helps me find the errors and help me fix them.  4. Meeting summaries. An absolute game changer I'm in back-to-back Teams calls and trying to remember what was actually agreed, using Copilot summarises the meeting, pulls out the actions, and means I'm not frantically scribbling notes while also trying to contribute to the conversation. I can just... be present.  Is it perfect? No.  But as a small business owner juggling all of these things give me the gift of time, and a professional edge!  There is so much more - But i'm not about to give it all away in a post