Microsoft Expands Copilot Features in Office Apps with Python Support in Excel

Microsoft has been progressively integrating Copilot support across its suite of Office productivity applications. Today, the tech giant unveiled several exciting new features for apps like Excel, PowerPoint, and more.

In a recent blog post, Microsoft announced that support for using Python within Excel has reached general availability, following its initial introduction to Microsoft 365 Insider users over a year ago. Moreover, the public preview of Excel’s Copilot with Python has been launched. The announcement highlights:

Now, anyone can leverage Copilot for advanced analytics such as forecasting, risk analysis, machine learning, and visualizing complex data—all through natural language, making coding unnecessary. It’s akin to adding a proficient data analyst to your team.

Users of the PowerPoint presentation application can now utilize Copilot’s Narrative Builder. With this feature, users can input text prompts that Copilot will use to generate a draft outline tailored to those prompts. Microsoft is also introducing Brand Manager within PowerPoint, enabling business employees to retrieve brand assets for integration into their presentations.

For users of the Outlook email application, Microsoft has announced a new feature called Prioritize My Inbox. This utilizes Copilot to streamline the process of accessing important emails. The blog post elaborated:

Copilot automatically produces a concise summary of each email, explaining why it was prioritized along with key insights. In the near future, you’ll be able to teach Copilot additional specific topics, keywords, or contacts that matter to you, ensuring those emails are highlighted as high priority.

This feature is set to launch in a public preview in late 2024.

Other Office applications slated to receive new Copilot enhancements soon include:

• Microsoft Teams – Users will be able to ask Copilot to analyze transcript data from Teams meetings and inquire about any questions they may have missed. This feature is expected to roll out later in September.
• Word – Copilot users in Word will gain the ability to reference additional data sources, including other Word documents, PDFs, emails, meeting transcripts, and more, with a rollout planned for later this month.

Additionally, Microsoft confirmed that Copilot support for OneDrive, its file storage service, is finally being introduced after several delays. The statement included:

Copilot in OneDrive can quickly process all your files to locate the information you need, enabling easy insights, summarization, and comparison of up to five files with a clear, easy-to-read summary of the details and differences among your files—all without the need to open each file.

The new Copilot features in OneDrive will be accessible to all users by the end of September.

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