What’s New in Microsoft Copilot | August 2026
Welcome to the August 2026 edition of What's New in Microsoft Copilot! Every month, we highlight new features and enhancements to keep Microsoft 365 customers up to date with Copilot features that help your users be more productive and efficient in the apps they use every day. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new…
Opening of the original on Microsoft 365 Copilot Blog
Summary
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 received several updates in August 2026, enhancing user productivity across its applications. New features include more control over effort and cost in Cowork, session sharing in Copilot Chat, language changes for Teams meeting recaps, and improved capabilities in Word, Excel, SharePoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and Planner. IT admins gain data export and GitHub Copilot AI credit management. These updates aim to boost efficiency for everyday tasks and complex projects.
Why it matters
Microsoft is continually refining Copilot's integration into its productivity suite. This month's updates focus on user control and application-specific enhancements, like language options for meeting summaries and better file handling. The introduction of effort level and cost controls in Cowork suggests a move towards more granular resource management, potentially addressing cost concerns. These iterative improvements aim to keep Copilot competitive against rivals like Google Gemini and Anthropic's Claude by deepening its utility within the existing Microsoft ecosystem, affecting enterprise users most directly.
Related: OpenAI: How AI-native companies turn workflows into operating capability · Google: Agent and Model Evaluations in Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform are now GA · Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1 runs the forecast overnight · Meta: An Organizational Second Brain: Building an AI That Learns From Experts · xAI: OpenAI Cut Off a Billion-Dollar Customer to Avoid Elon Musk
Rated low: routine. Worth knowing, not worth rearranging your day for.
- How Kier Group’s Louisa Finlay is using Copilot to drive safety and productivity in the construction industryMicrosoft Source
- From AI readiness to impact: Why a strong data foundation determines success in healthcareMicrosoft Source
- From Code to Agents: Build Production MCP Servers on Azure FunctionsMicrosoft Developer on YouTube
- Available today: Anthropic Claude Fable 5.1 in Microsoft CopilotMicrosoft 365 Copilot Blog
- Set an expiration date for individual user budgetsGitHub Changelog: Copilot
- Copilot code review can now approve pull requestsGitHub Changelog: Copilot
From Code to Agents: Build Production MCP Servers on Azure Functions
1 million documents to 300+agents: Building an enterprise-scale Microsoft 365 Copilot connector
Build Agents That Drive Faster Outcomes: Best Practices From Microsoft Partners
Questions people ask
- What new controls are available for Cowork?
- Users can now choose an effort level to balance quality, speed, and credit usage. Medium is the default for everyday work, while Light is for simpler tasks.
- What are some updates for Copilot in Teams?
- Copilot in Teams now allows users to change languages for meeting recaps, offering more flexibility for global teams.
- What IT admin capabilities were added?
- IT administrators now have access to data export features and management for GitHub Copilot AI Credits.
More from Microsoft 365 Copilot Blog 19 more
Copilot Notebooks now works with Markdown, plain-text, and rich-text files
Built for business: How Microsoft 365 Copilot keeps you in the flow of legal work
ICYMI: Partner Blog | From AI curiosity to Copilot adoption in 30 days
More control over web grounding with Domain Exclusion for Microsoft 365 Copilot
1 million documents to 300+agents: Building an enterprise-scale Microsoft 365 Copilot connector
Join Us Live: Understanding Copilot Cowork and Managing Copilot Credits
Page generated Sep 3, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the story belongs to Microsoft 365 Copilot Blog.