Copilot still has a long way to go before its truly recognized as one of the best chatbots.
Microsoft has launched two new AI "reasoning" assistants, Researcher and Analyst, as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot suite . Starting in June 2025, these tools will be available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users, helping you work smarter by providing expert-level research and data analysis.
Meet Copilot's AI Agent Researchers and Analysts.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is more than just a chatbot. Researchers and analysts bring advanced reasoning right to your fingertips. All you need to do is create the right prompt.
Researcher uses OpenAI's deep research language model combined with Microsoft technology to support complex research. It can quickly gather, summarize, and organize information. This means you don't have to spend hours searching and reading through documents.
For example, researchers can obtain insights from third-party sources such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, Confluence, etc. Companies can integrate this data and build a comprehensive picture of their industry, accurately identifying trends and opportunities.
Analyst works on data. It operates within the Microsoft suite to transform raw data into useful insights. Using Python scripts and step-by-step reasoning, Analyst helps you identify trends, perform calculations, and create summaries or charts. This can save you time and reduce errors when handling complex spreadsheets. For example, you can take raw data and turn it into a demand forecast for a new product.
Microsoft's blog has more examples of researchers and analysts in action.
Researchers and analysts process massive amounts of information based on OpenAI's o3-mini reasoning model. Both tools are no longer limited to the initial testers.
If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you can start using Researcher and Analyst now. You can easily find both of these new features in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app as pins and through Copilot Chat. Users can create up to 25 combined queries per month.
According to Microsoft, Researcher supports 37 languages and Analyst supports 8 languages, but both will soon add more languages.
However, Microsoft's new AI agents are not free. You need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 Copilot, which costs $30 per month.
Artificial AI is the assistant of the future.
The addition of these AI reasoning agents will change the way you work with Microsoft 365 applications. Instead of relying on manual research or spending hours on spreadsheets, you'll get the thinking help to work with you. This saves you time spent on repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on making decisions and creating value.
For data processing professionals or researchers, these tools can be incredibly useful. They provide expert assistance right at your fingertips without requiring special training in AI, coding, or even mathematical and statistical skills.
Making these features available to all (paid) users demonstrates Microsoft's effort to bring powerful AI tools beyond the enterprise sphere. The goal is to make work easier and more efficient, regardless of your role or industry.
Experience shows that having AI that understands context and can explain multi-step problems is a far cry from simple automation. While AI is like calling a knowledgeable intern to do odd jobs, agentic AI is like calling an expert ready to step in with the exact task you need.
Researcher and Analyst provides Microsoft 365 users with an intelligent way to better understand and save time and resources for businesses. But there is also the potential for agentic AI to replace the very workers it promises to improve efficiency.