Microsoft is rolling out a bundle of AI upgrades to the core Office apps—Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—without the extra cost of a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. These enhancements, slated for preview in March 2026, give every Microsoft 365 subscriber access to powerful AI tools that were once reserved for paid plans.
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Copilot Chat Expands in Outlook
The free Copilot Chat, first introduced last September, is getting smarter. It will soon scan your entire inbox, including calendar entries and meeting notes, so you can use the chatbot to triage emails, schedule events, and prepare for meetings—all without the $30 monthly Copilot fee.
Agent Mode Comes to Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Agent Mode, which launched for paid subscribers in September, is now available to all Microsoft 365 users. In Excel and Word, the feature can generate complex documents or spreadsheets from a simple prompt. Excel users can even choose between Anthropic and OpenAI reasoning models. In PowerPoint, Agent Mode can refresh slides with your company’s branded template, create new content, rewrite text, and add images.
Business Plans Get the Same Boost
Microsoft has also announced the upcoming Microsoft 365 Copilot Business plan, priced at $21 per month for companies with fewer than 300 users. This move follows earlier bundling of Copilot features into consumer plans and the October integration of sales, service, and finance copilots into the main subscription.
By bringing these AI tools into the free tier, Microsoft is making advanced productivity features accessible to everyone, whether you’re a solo user or running a small‑to‑midsize business.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/822789/microsoft-copilot-chat-outlook-word-excel-powerpoint
