What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Features Arriving in Q3 2024

Welcome back to another edition of Mastering Microsoft 365 and Beyond! As we continue our journey through the evolving landscape of Microsoft 365's cutting-edge AI and Copilot technologies, I am eager to dive into the latest advancements in this space that are shaping the future of work. In our previous discussions, we explored the new Data Access Governance (DAG) permissions report, which is playing a crucial role in securing Copilot content in SharePoint, and examined how Copilot is making a profound impact across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

This time around, we’re focusing on the latest wave of features set to roll out in Q3 CY2024. These updates are designed to further empower users by ntegrating AI-driven insights more deeply into everyday tasks. These updates offer something valuable for everyone, making our workday smoother and more productive. So, let’s dive in and see how these new features can help you get the most out of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Overview

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated within Microsoft’s suite of productivity applications. Leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and Microsoft Graph data, Copilot improves key Microsoft 365 apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint and Teams. Designed to increase productivity, modernize work processes, and provide users with intuitive support, Copilot exemplifies how AI is transforming the modern workplace. First introduced in March 2023, Copilot marks a significant milestone in Microsoft's ongoing integration of AI within its enterprise solutions.

Since its launch, Microsoft has continually expanded Copilot’s capabilities, rolling out new features across its suite of applications to help users work smarter and more efficiently. The following sections offer a comprehensive overview of the upcoming updates scheduled for release in August and September 2024.

These latest feature updates introduce advanced collaboration capabilities and deeper AI integration, with a focus on refining team collaboration through features like Copilot Lab team prompt publishing, and context-aware prompt suggestions in chat. Additionally, users will benefit from improvements in content creation and work process optimization, including the ability to generate images from natural language, summarize specific chat content, and integrate brand assets directly from SharePoint.

Content creation and brand assets in SharePoint

SharePoint users will benefit significantly from the introduction of Copilot in SharePoint (Feature ID: 124840). Copilot in SharePoint combines the power of LLMs alongside Microsoft Graph data to assist users in a variety of tasks, such as drafting content, adjusting tone, expanding meeting notes into structured text, among other capabilities . By also automating content creation, this new AI capability in SharePoint enables users to focus on higher-level tasks, such as strategic decision-making, while Copilot handles the more mundane aspects of content generation.

Another significant update is the integration of brand assets from SharePoint's organization asset libraries into M365 Copilot (Feature ID: 406170). This feature connects Copilot in PowerPoint and Word with SharePoint libraries, allowing users to easily find and add brand-approved images to their documents and presentations. This helps ensure that all content remains on brand and adheres to organizational guidelines.

Advanced collaboration and AI-driven capabilities in Teams

A key update for Teams is the introduction of Copilot Lab team prompt publishing (Feature ID: 391636), which allows commercial customers to publish Copilot prompts to specific groups within their organization. This feature is designed to enable teams to share and standardize prompts, providing consistency across the organization. Building on this, Copilot Lab will also feature trending and recommended prompts (Feature ID: 400711), helping users discover new or popular prompts within their organization and providing personalized suggestions powered by Microsoft Graph. To further augment AI-grounded collaboration, users will be able to save, share, and try prompts in the Copilot Lab, fostering an environment where knowledge and best practices are easily disseminated.

In addition to these collaborative updates, Copilot will offer prompt suggestions in Copilot chat (Feature ID: 409962), delivering automatic, context-aware recommendations based on previous interactions. This feature helps users get started quickly and boost productivity by providing relevant suggestions. Moreover, the ability to generate images using natural language in Copilot chat (Feature ID: 409561) will enable users to visualize concepts and ideas, seamlessly integrating visual elements into their workflows.

Microsoft Teams will also benefit from updates to how Copilot interacts with content. One such feature allows Copilot to summarize content in chats and channels over a specified period (Feature ID: 397768), which is particularly useful for users needing to quickly catch up on discussions and focus on key information. Additionally, in Teams Meetings, Copilot will now consider the meeting chat and transcript when responding to questions (Feature ID: 383019), providing responses that are more accurate, contextually relevant, and ultimately improving the quality of interactions during meetings.

New data analysis and management features in Excel

One of the critical updates arriving in Q3 August 2024 is the improvement to data analysis and management in Excel. Microsoft Copilot will introduce several new features that significantly improve how users interact with their data. One of the updates is the ability to add a single formula that summarizes column data into one cell. Traditionally, formulas in Excel would produce unique results for each row, but this new feature allows users to calculate all data in a column collectively, returning a single summary result. Additionally, users can create specific rows with formulas applicable across relevant columns, such as adding a "total sales row" with a SUM formula under columns containing sales data. This feature (Feature ID: 398989) is aimed at streamlining data analysis tasks, making Excel even more powerful for users who manage large datasets.

Another noteworthy update for Excel is the introduction of custom chart and PivotTable creation (Feature ID: 399423). Users will be able to specify the x and y axes of their charts, allowing for more custom data visualizations. This feature is complemented by another update that enables Copilot to summarize text columns (Feature ID: 399425), where Copilot can analyze textual data to identify main themes, such as summarizing survey responses. These improvements collectively position Excel as a more dynamic application for data-driven decision-making, while reducing the complexity of manual data analysis and enabling users to derive insights more efficiently.

Microsoft Word updates

In Word, users will benefit from the introduction of automatic summaries for documents (Feature IDs: 399921 and 397096), which display a summary directly within the Word window. Users can interact with these summaries by either hiding them or engaging with the Copilot chat pane to ask specific questions. To enhance the focus and relevance of summaries, Copilot will also be introducing a feature that limits these summary requests in the chat to operate only on user-selected text within a document (Feature ID: 388742), providing users with more targeted and meaningful summaries.

Additionally, Copilot in Word will offer AI-generated coaching on writing (Feature ID: 399923), which reviews the logical structure, flow, and tone of the text, providing suggestions for improvement.

Other significant update to Word include the new Copilot capability to draft content with references to emails and meetings, making the creation of contextually relevant content more seamless (Feature ID: 405753). Furthermore, Word will now integrate current web content from Bing search when drafting documents (Feature ID: 380839), ensuring that users have access to up-to-date and relevant information.

Outlook and PowerPoint updates

Microsoft Copilot’s integration with Outlook and PowerPoint is set to receive substantial upgrades, augmenting both email management and presentation creation. In Outlook, several new features will significantly improve communication efficiency. For example, Copilot will introduce the ability to apply coaching suggestions directly to emails (Feature ID: 392326), in turn enabling users to completely rewrite their messages based on feedback from "Coaching by Copilot," thus refining communication with just one click. Another valuable addition is the ability to schedule meetings directly from email threads (Feature ID: 372895), automating the transition from email to meeting by generating an invite with a pre-filled attendee list and an agenda derived from the email conversation.

Moreover, Outlook users will gain the ability to select specific pieces of text within an email and instruct Copilot to rewrite them (Feature ID: 392327), offering detailed control over tone and length modifications.

In PowerPoint, Copilot will assist users in drafting their narrative (Feature ID: 398967), guiding them in structuring and refining content to create compelling presentations. This feature will be particularly beneficial for users looking to ensure their message is clear and impactful.

Empowering Educators with Copilot in Microsoft Forms

Education professionals will benefit significantly from updates to Microsoft Forms. Copilot will now support the generation of quizzes from provided materials (Feature ID: 389149), a feature that addresses one of the most requested capabilities in the education sector. This update allows teachers to create quizzes from documents, textbooks, or notes quickly, saving valuable time. Additionally, Copilot in Forms will aid students by offering step-by-step solutions for quiz questions (Feature ID: 392843). This feature will help students understand the correct answers and provides immediate feedback on their performance, which is essential for effective learning.

Summary

The third-quarter CY2024 feature updates to Microsoft 365 Copilot mark an expansion of its capabilities across the Microsoft 365 suite. From data analysis in Excel to improving collaboration in Teams, the updates leverage AI to transform the way users interact with their productivity applications. By integrating AI-driven insights, advanced content creation capabilities, and collaborative features, Microsoft 365 Copilot continues to evolve as a powerful assistant that empowers employees to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

As Microsoft continues to roll out these updates, organizations can look forward to a more dynamic and intuitive user experience, with AI seamlessly integrated into their everyday work processes. Whether in education, corporate environments, or creative industries, Microsoft 365 Copilot is redefining productivity by making complex tasks more manageable and enabling users to focus on what truly matters.

About the Author: Sousouni Bajis is a Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect with in enterprise cloud technology and thought leader who regularly shares insights on maximizing the potential of the Microsoft cloud platforms through his blog. Discover more about his journey and contributions at sousounibajis.com.