Celebrating Word’s 41st anniversary, Microsoft shared an overview of the platform’s latest innovations and its progress as a productivity tool. While much has changed since the early days of Word, the latest updates reflect a bold vision for the future with advances in artificial intelligence, web capabilities, collaboration features, and developer tools.

One notable addition is the integration of AI capabilities through Microsoft’s Copilot, powered by the latest advances in Large Language Models (LLM). These AI-powered features include a document summarization tool that allows Copilot to analyze large documents and provide concise summaries.

Additionally, the Draft Refinement feature allows users to have Copilot rephrase text or turn bulleted lists into fully developed paragraphs. Another web-based AI extension is Content Coaching, where Copilot provides suggestions to improve the overall quality of your writing.

The company also focused on improving Word’s web functionality by introducing new formatting and usability tools. These updates include link preview, which allows users to view related content without leaving the document, and new table editing options that make structuring and editing tables more efficient. In addition, the improved File menu now simplifies the user experience by providing consistent and simplified navigation between Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the web.

Collaboration tools in Word have made significant progress in supporting teamwork across devices. Recent comment filtering option now allows users
Filter feedback to focus on specific comments; Accessibility Assistant promotes inclusivity by ensuring documents are accessible to all readers. Additionally, Microsoft introduced dynamic watermarks in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that add an extra layer of security to documents shared by teams.

For developers, Microsoft has expanded the Word JavaScript API, which now includes versions 1.7 and 1.8. These updates allow developers to create their own workflows and tools in Word, providing businesses with greater flexibility to adapt the software to their unique needs.