Microsoft now lets AI complete tasks directly inside Office apps
24 Apr 2026
Microsoft has announced the launch of a new feature called 'Agent Mode' in its Office apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The company had earlier referred to this advanced capability as "vibe working."
Agent Mode is an improved version of the Copilot experience that Microsoft has been promoting for businesses.
Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Office Product Group, explained that when they first launched Copilot, foundation models weren't powerful enough to command applications effectively.
Copilot's AI agent gets a major upgrade
Enhanced functionality
The new Agent Mode is designed to better understand commands and edits in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Chauhan said that over the past year, models have improved significantly in instruction following, reasoning, and overall quality.
"They are now better at handling multi-step edits reliably without losing your intent," he added.
This improvement makes the Copilot AI agent more responsive than ever before.
Real-time monitoring and direct editing
User experience
The new Agent Mode also offers a unique feature of real-time monitoring. A sidebar will show every step the Copilot AI agent takes on a document, giving users complete visibility into its actions.
In Excel, it can make changes directly in a workbook by adding formulas or tables.
Meanwhile, PowerPoint's Agent Mode can update existing decks with fresh information while maintaining the template styling that businesses use.
Available for Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers
Subscription details
Microsoft is rolling out these new Copilot features as the default experience for its Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers.
The advanced capabilities are also available with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans.
