Microsoft Launches Computer Use Agent for Copilot Studio

Microsoft has announced new autonomous computer use capabilities in the Copilot Studio. This feature is accessible through an early access research preview. 

The feature can autonomously navigate through a user interface and perform actions like clicking buttons, selecting menus and typing text into fields.

“With computer use in Copilot Studio, makers can build agents that automate tasks on user interfaces across both desktop and browser applications, including Edge, Chrome, and Firefox,” Microsoft said. 

“If a person can use the app, the [AI] agent can too,” it added. The company will reveal more details about this feature at the Microsoft Build event in May. 

Microsoft has now joined the ranks of companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google by offering autonomous computing capabilities on its platform.

Last December, Microsoft launched the Copilot Vision feature, which allows users to browse the web with AI assistance. With user permission, Copilot Vision can read and analyse web pages, providing insights, simplifying information, and more. 

Recently, Microsoft announced that it is rolling out the Copilot Vision feature to Windows Insiders, a community of users who have opted in to access and test these features pre-release. 

Last month, the company announced a new ‘Researcher’ feature in Microsoft 365 Copilot, similar to the deep research tools offered by today's AI models and platforms. The feature combines OpenAI’s deep research model with Microsoft 365 Copilot’s capabilities. It can also integrate third-party data from platforms like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Confluence.

Moreover, Microsoft announced an ‘Analyst’ feature designed to function like a “skilled data scientist”. This feature is built on OpenAI’s o3-mini reasoning model and can run Python to execute data queries, allowing users to view the code the tool runs in real time. 

“You can use Analyst to turn raw data scattered across multiple spreadsheets into a demand forecast for a new product, a visualisation of customer purchasing patterns, or a revenue projection,” Microsoft said.