Microsoft has been steadily enhancing and optimizing Copilot, its AI-powered assistant, which is now integrated into various services, applications, and even Windows 11—a fantastic addition. But that’s not all. The company has just announced an exciting new development.
Microsoft has introduced two AI-powered reasoning agents designed for workplace tasks: Analyst and Researcher. As their names suggest, each one specializes in a specific type of task, helping users streamline workflows and improve efficiency. These additions enhance the user experience, especially for those handling complex or demanding tasks.
Researcher and analyst are the new reasoning agents for Microsoft 365
As mentioned earlier, Microsoft has introduced its first-of-their-kind reasoning agents. To highlight its capabilities, the company has also published an article on its official website outlining the key benefits it offers.
These AI-powered agents can analyze vast amounts of information securely, pulling data from meetings, files, chats, emails, and more. However, to truly grasp their potential, it’s best to take a closer look at what each one can do.
This is all you can do with the researcher at Microsoft 365
To start, the Researcher reasoning agent is designed to tackle complex investigations, providing high-quality and more precise information than ever before. Now, this advanced OpenAI research model can be seamlessly integrated with Microsoft 365 Copilot’s search capabilities.
With this integration, users can generate highly detailed marketing strategies based on extensive workplace data and insights from the web. It can also help identify new opportunities for product launches by analyzing the latest trends or even create comprehensive quarterly reports for clients to track progress.
With Researcher, you can leverage third-party data through connectors, allowing you to enhance your capabilities and provide more comprehensive insights. You can seamlessly integrate external sources like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Confluence directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot, ensuring access to a broader range of information.
This is what you can do with an analyst at Microsoft 365
On the other hand, the Analyst functions as a data expert, capable of transforming large amounts of raw information into meaningful insights within minutes. It is built on OpenAI’s O3-mini reasoning model, specifically optimized for advanced data analysis.
This agent employs chain-of-thought reasoning to navigate complex problems, refining its approach to deliver high-quality responses that mimic human thought processes. It can even execute Python scripts for complex data queries, allowing users to view the source code in real-time. Additionally, it can take scattered, unstructured data and convert it into well-organized spreadsheets.
Both reasoning agents, Analyst and Researcher, will begin rolling out to Microsoft 365 Copilot license holders in April 2025. They will be introduced as part of Frontier, a new program that grants users early access to these features while they are still in development.
Microsoft Copilot Studio adds deep reasoning and agent flows
Microsoft has also announced additional features, including deep reasoning and agents, which will be integrated into Microsoft Copilot Studio. These updates aim to simplify the creation, management, and deployment of AI agents, allowing businesses to tailor them to their specific needs.
Additionally, users will be able to develop autonomous agents within Copilot Studio as part of the platform’s new capabilities. These agents can operate independently, automating various business tasks to improve efficiency.
Teams can confidently implement these technologies thanks to Copilot’s built-in control system, ensuring security and reliability. This integration marks a significant step forward, equipping businesses with powerful tools to streamline operations.
