Copilot continues to evolve with more and more new features across the Office suite. The only requirement is a Copilot Pro subscription.

Today, Copilot comes in two versions: free and paid via Copilot Pro. You need the latter if you want to use the integrations in the Office package together with a Microsoft 365 account. For the latter group of users, Microsoft is adding many new features.

The full list of the fourteen new Copilot features can be found in detail on this Microsoft page. We select the most interesting features for business use.

Generate images in Word and PowerPoint

Starting this month, you can generate images using keywords directly in Word and PowerPoint. A built-in link to Microsoft Designer lets you choose from multiple previews that are then integrated.

In PowerPoint, you can even ask Copilot Pro if the design of the slide can be adjusted to match the generated image.

Improved PowerPoint results

Previously, you could ask CoPilot Pro to create a PowerPoint presentation based on data. According to Microsoft, the automatic feature now works better. For example, the AI ​​assistant suggests better titles, sections and slides.

Planning better takes into account your agenda, sections, and conclusions. For enthusiasts: Copilot Pro also handles transitions and animations better.

Within PowerPoint, you can now also chat with the AI ​​Assistant to answer questions about data within Microsoft Graph, the Microsoft Cloud, or Bing.

New functions in Excel

Excel is getting an extra dose of AI support with three new features. Copilot Pro now works with data ranges that “look like tables” and whose headers are on a single row. Microsoft says this works more efficiently than before because you no longer have to format the data before turning on the AI ​​assistant.

The edit box is now available in any Excel worksheet, regardless of the selected cell. Copilot argues with the table or data range that is most similar to a table and the closest to the grid area selected by the user on the same worksheet. This allows users to start working with Copilot immediately, regardless of their position in the worksheet.

Copilot in Excel now also offers clearer and more comprehensive answers to a variety of Excel-related questions. If desired, users can now receive step-by-step instructions including formula examples or corrections and explanations of formula errors.

Copilot in teams

Do you know who you’re chatting with at work? You might think so, but the more AI functions take over our work programs, the less interaction you have with a real human.

Users can now tell Copilot Pro to modify their drafted messages. When users write a message in a Teams chat or channel, they can open Copilot below the message field and type a prompt, such as ‘Add a call to action’, ‘Make it compelling’, or ‘Turn my message into a list and insert language’. Copilot will then adjust the message.

More information in Word

Users can now reference not only Word and PowerPoint files when using Copilot in Word, but also PDFs and certain emails and meetings. This increases access to information in your organization’s Microsoft 365 tenant when creating or summarizing Word documents.

Rewriting in SharePoint

Users can now use Copilot to quickly rewrite existing text on SharePoint pages or news posts, potentially improving quality.

Within seconds, users can easily change the tone of their text, preview the content before replacing it, make the text shorter or longer, and even rewrite it automatically.

Availability

All of the above features are available now or will be introduced in the coming days. It is important to note that this requires a Copilot Pro subscription in addition to your Microsoft 365 account. This option costs 22 euros plus VAT per month. You can read here whether it is worth it today.