Shares of Microsoft popped 4% on Friday, 25 September, reaching $517.48 on Nasdaq after the software giant unveiled its biggest Copilot overhaul, as the company seeks to transform its AI assistant into a one-stop shop for office workers.
The rally gave a big boost to the S&P 500 and puts Microsoft on track for its first weekly gain in four weeks. Microsoft is racing to expand Copilot beyond its chat-based roots to boost adoption as it competes with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Claude.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called the revamped Copilot a “new OS for work,” designed to bring together different AI models, devices, and workplace tasks. The tech titan has worked on the engineering overhaul of the product for the past six months.
The efforts were leaked several months ago, but the new product begins rolling out today through its Frontier programme, Microsoft announced.
The redesigned Copilot app centres around three new capabilities: Home, Code, and Autopilot. Home brings Chat and Cowork together while embedding Word, Excel, and PowerPoint directly inside Copilot.
The Windows maker unveiled “Code” to let users build apps, dashboards, and other software using natural language prompts. The tool, powered by the same technology as Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, will roll out to early-access customers at the end of the month, while 365 Premium and Pro subscribers can preview it later this year.
Code allows users to describe an app, dashboard, tracker, or workflow in ‘natural language’ and have Copilot build it.
The biggest shift comes with Autopilot. Unlike a traditional chatbot that waits for prompts, Autopilot, formerly called Scout, can continue working in the background—monitoring channels, following up on conversations, and handling recurring tasks, Microsoft said.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly for some enterprises, is the introduction of FinOps for AI. This helps clients better understand and manage the amount being spent on AI tools.
“FinOps for AI is a shared discipline for managing AI spend and optimizing it for business value,” said Jared Spataro, chief marketing officer for Microsoft AI at Work, in a Friday blog post.
Although individual users can still access and use the new Copilot, this version has a particular focus on serving corporate clients.
Stock rally turns year-to-date gains positive
Microsoft shares have remained in a bull trend over the last three months, including September. During this period, the stock surged 38%, marking its longest winning run in a year.
The rally also helped cut down the stock’s year-to-date losses, turning its performance positive by 6.80% so far. This year, the stock witnessed extreme volatility, impacted by geopolitical tensions and surging bond yields, while AI leaders earlier this month raised concerns over the pace of frontier AI development.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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