Microsoft outlines new Copilot features added in October 2026

Microsoft has detailed all the new features and improvements announced for Copilot in October 2026. This month, the company upgraded Copilot with new automation features, smarter document creation, interactive Excel reports, and improvements to Teams. Some features are already rolling out, while others are expected in the coming months.

Microsoft Copilot gets new ways to automate work

The Copilot app is getting a redesigned Home experience that brings Chat and Cowork together. Projects now help users organize related conversations, files, instructions, and tasks without repeatedly rebuilding context.

Interestingly, Microsoft is also preparing Autopilot, an always-on cloud-based agent designed to carry work forward with less manual direction. It can use persistent context and operate across Microsoft 365 experiences, subject to access controls and approval safeguards.

Copilot is also getting reusable skills that capture instructions for repeated tasks. Users will be able to create skills through natural language and discover those shared by colleagues or their organization.

Meanwhile, Copilot Workspaces is expanding its collaboration features. Users can create and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly inside workspaces, while audio summaries can cover additional content sources.

Excel, PowerPoint and Teams get useful Copilot upgrades

Microsoft Excel is receiving accounting skills and a clean-data tool that identifies duplicates, inconsistent formatting, and incorrect data types. An interactive canvas can also turn workbook data into visual reports that update when the underlying data changes.

PowerPoint is getting Anthropic’s Sonnet 5.5 model, alongside improved Brand Kits and tools for creating interactive slides. Word is receiving legal-focused skills, document-specific formatting, and Markdown support.

Teams users can access AI-generated meeting recaps without retaining a transcript. Meanwhile, the Queues app is also getting intelligent call summaries and tools for asking questions about completed calls.

In addition, Microsoft is adding a prompt gallery to OneDrive and a shared knowledge base in SharePoint. Administrators are also receiving expanded insights and data-loss prevention controls for Copilot and Cowork.

Do note that the rollout is staggered, with several features arriving in November or later. Microsoft says its published timelines remain tentative, so availability will vary across users and organizations.