Microsoft’s Office apps are getting even more free AI features
TL;DR
Microsoft is adding free AI features like Copilot Chat in Outlook and Agent Mode in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 subscribers by early 2026. These enhancements allow inbox triage, document generation, and slide updates without the paid Copilot license.
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Microsoft is adding even more AI features to Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While the software maker has been adding plenty of features to its paid Microsoft 365 Copilot over the past year, a range of free additions are coming to its Office apps in early 2026 that don’t require the $30 per month, per the user Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Microsoft first introduced the free version of Copilot Chat into Microsoft 365 apps in September, and it’s now improving how this chatbot works in Outlook. Copilot Chat will soon be able to view content across an entire Outlook inbox, including calendar entries and meetings. This will allow you to use Copilot to triage an inbox or schedule and prepare for meetings, all without a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license. It goes far beyond the existing integration that’s limited to just individual email threads.
Agent Mode, which originally launched to paid Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers in September, is also coming to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for all Microsoft 365 subscribers. Agent Mode in Excel and Word can generate complex spreadsheets and documents with just a prompt, and you’ll be able to choose between Anthropic and OpenAI reasoning models in Excel.
Agent Mode in PowerPoint can be used to update existing decks with a business’s branded template, or create new slides, rewrite and format text, and add images.
Microsoft says it’s aiming to preview these free AI additions to Microsoft 365 subscribers by March 2026.
Microsoft’s move to bring Agent Mode to Microsoft 365 business plans and not charge extra follows a similar change earlier this year when it bundled its AI-powered Copilot features into Office apps for consumer Microsoft 365 plans. Microsoft also bundled its sales, service, and finance Copilots into the main Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription in October.
Microsoft is also now planning to launch Microsoft 365 Copilot Business next month, aimed at small and midsize businesses. It’s priced at $21 per month instead of $30, and will be available for businesses with fewer than 300 users.