New Delhi: Microsoft is now building its Windows into an Agentic OS, a version of the operating system that is going to bring AI-driven automation directly into the system functions, user workflows and the developer tools. The shift was recently announced at Microsoft Ignite, alongside the deeper Copilot integrations, on-device AI capabilities for Copilot Plus PCs and infrastructure for running autonomous agents within Windows.
The latest multiple-user-facing AI features are being integrated into Windows 11.
- Voice in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Users can now activate Copilot hands-free with the Hey Copilot or through Win + C. It will enable real-time, back-and-forth spoken responses across both web and work data.
- Taskbar level AI agent controls: Long-running agents, such as Researcher, will show status, chain of thought logic and progress directly on the taskbar.
- New Ask Copilot composer on the taskbar: Lets the users search, ask questions and launch agents directly through the toolbar, including tagging agents using @.
- File Explorer Copilot actions: Users can hover over a file in File Explorer Home and ask Copilot for summaries or context.
- Agenda view in Notification Centre: Integrates Calendar to show upcoming events and allows interactions such as joining meetings.
Fluid dictation for Copilot Plus PCs is now available in preview, using on-device models for faster and more natural voice typing. New high definition Narrator voices using generative AI, Narrator personalisation, coming soon in preview, allowing users to customise verbosity and app-specific profiles using natural language. Microsoft is bringing Copilot Chat integrations for Microsoft 365 subscribers at no additional cost. Copilot Chat will soon surface information from an entire Outlook inbox, calendar entries and meeting data, allowing basic inbox triage and meeting preparation without requiring a paid Copilot license.
Microsoft is rolling out Agent Mode across the Office applications for all Microsoft 365 users. The feature enables more advanced, task-driven automation inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other applications. In Excel, Agent Mode can generate complex spreadsheets from a single simple prompt, with users able to pick between different reasoning models, including Anthropic and OpenAI. In PowerPoint, the feature can update the existing decks with branded templates, generate new slides, rewrite or refine text and insert images based on a prompt. According to the company, they have offered Copilot Plus PC exclusive AI features. Let’s take a look at it:
- Improved Windows semantic search across local and Microsoft 365 cloud files: Rolling out gradually to commercial Microsoft 365 Copilot consumers on Copilot Plus PCs.
- Click to Do: Lets the users act on onscreen content or convert elements such as tables directly into editable formats.
- Writing Assistance with Microsoft 365 Copilot: It will basically help to craft the content with AI-powered rewrite and proofreading. It will be previewed soon and will also be available offline to Copilot Plus PC users.
- Offline email summarisation in Outlook: Rolling out to Copilot Plus PC users at the end of the month.
