Microsoft has announced Copilot Cowork, a new AI feature within Microsoft 365 Copilot that focuses on executing multi-step tasks and workflows across apps like Teams and Outlook on the user's behalf. Powered by Anthropic's Claude and a system called Work IQ, it analyzes user context to create and run execution plans, seeking user approval at checkpoints.
The offering is currently in a research preview and is expected for wider release in late March 2026 through the Frontier program. Microsoft's partnership with Anthropic for this feature highlights a multi-model AI strategy, though the company remains a major investor in OpenAI.
The main topics covered are the launch and capabilities of Copilot Cowork, its operational details and privacy, its availability timeline, and the implications of Microsoft's partnership with Anthropic.
Microsoft announced on Monday its new artificial intelligence (AI) offering, Copilot Cowork, in partnership with Anthropic.
What is Copilot Cowork?
Within Microsoft 365 (M365) Copilot, this cloud-based offering is designed to move beyond answering questions and drafting text. Instead, it focusses on executing tasks and workflows on the userâs behalf across Microsoft 365 apps. M365 Copilot is an AI-enabled tool integrated across Microsoftâs products, including apps like Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and OneDrive. These apps are now cloud-based, meaning they do not need to be installed separately on the system.
What can it do?
Copilot Cowork enables users to delegate work directly to AI. By describing the desired outcome, Copilot creates and executes a plan using context from emails, meetings, files, and messages across tools like Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
The system is powered by Work IQ, which analyses signals across Microsoft 365 to understand the userâs workflow and context. Work IQ is the intelligence layer between M365 Copilot and third-party agents. This enables Copilot to understand the context of the individual and the enterprise better.
This means the AI tool converts requests into step-by-step execution plans, runs tasks in the background, provides checkpoints for user approval, and even allows users to pause, modify, or confirm actions.
How does it work?
To begin with, a user must first define the outcome, for instance, to prepare the minutes of and proposals for a client meeting. The Copilot then generates a plan using relevant workplace data. Tasks execute in the background, with periodic confirmations like whether proposals must be edited or sent across. Once the user approves or edits, the actions are applied.
To ensure privacy, Copilot Cowork operates within Microsoft 365 security and compliance frameworks.
For Anthropic, Claude Cowork is a subscription-based desktop agentic AI app that executes work in a virtual machine (VM) environment. A VM environment is a software-based isolated computer emulation that runs inside the physical computer and acts like a completely separate, independent system.
Is it available immediately?
Copilot Cowork is currently in research preview with select customers and is expected to become more widely available through the Frontier programme in late March 2026. The Microsoft Frontier programme is an early-access, insider track for Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing enterprise and individual subscribers to test experimental AI agents, features, and capabilities.
What happens to OpenAI and ChatGPT?
For this offering, Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic, with Claude powering all the capabilities within the Copilot ecosystem. This supports a multi-model architecture, allowing Copilot to use the most appropriate AI model for each task.
While this does not mean that Microsoft is moving away from OpenAI, in which the former is still one of the biggest investors, this does mean that the former is equally willing to explore its options for AI partnerships. This comes as OpenAI recently announced its partnership with Amazon and the latter's cloud offering of Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is a competitor of Microsoft's Azure product.
In November 2025, Microsoft committed to invest up to $5 billion in the Dario Amodei-led Anthropic. As part of the partnership, Anthropic also promised to buy $30 billion worth of Azureâs compute capacity.
What is Copilot Cowork?
Within Microsoft 365 (M365) Copilot, this cloud-based offering is designed to move beyond answering questions and drafting text. Instead, it focusses on executing tasks and workflows on the userâs behalf across Microsoft 365 apps. M365 Copilot is an AI-enabled tool integrated across Microsoftâs products, including apps like Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and OneDrive. These apps are now cloud-based, meaning they do not need to be installed separately on the system.
What can it do?
Copilot Cowork enables users to delegate work directly to AI. By describing the desired outcome, Copilot creates and executes a plan using context from emails, meetings, files, and messages across tools like Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
The system is powered by Work IQ, which analyses signals across Microsoft 365 to understand the userâs workflow and context. Work IQ is the intelligence layer between M365 Copilot and third-party agents. This enables Copilot to understand the context of the individual and the enterprise better.
This means the AI tool converts requests into step-by-step execution plans, runs tasks in the background, provides checkpoints for user approval, and even allows users to pause, modify, or confirm actions.
How does it work?
To begin with, a user must first define the outcome, for instance, to prepare the minutes of and proposals for a client meeting. The Copilot then generates a plan using relevant workplace data. Tasks execute in the background, with periodic confirmations like whether proposals must be edited or sent across. Once the user approves or edits, the actions are applied.
To ensure privacy, Copilot Cowork operates within Microsoft 365 security and compliance frameworks.
For Anthropic, Claude Cowork is a subscription-based desktop agentic AI app that executes work in a virtual machine (VM) environment. A VM environment is a software-based isolated computer emulation that runs inside the physical computer and acts like a completely separate, independent system.
Is it available immediately?
Copilot Cowork is currently in research preview with select customers and is expected to become more widely available through the Frontier programme in late March 2026. The Microsoft Frontier programme is an early-access, insider track for Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing enterprise and individual subscribers to test experimental AI agents, features, and capabilities.
What happens to OpenAI and ChatGPT?
For this offering, Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic, with Claude powering all the capabilities within the Copilot ecosystem. This supports a multi-model architecture, allowing Copilot to use the most appropriate AI model for each task.
While this does not mean that Microsoft is moving away from OpenAI, in which the former is still one of the biggest investors, this does mean that the former is equally willing to explore its options for AI partnerships. This comes as OpenAI recently announced its partnership with Amazon and the latter's cloud offering of Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is a competitor of Microsoft's Azure product.
In November 2025, Microsoft committed to invest up to $5 billion in the Dario Amodei-led Anthropic. As part of the partnership, Anthropic also promised to buy $30 billion worth of Azureâs compute capacity.
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