The new Copilot tools in Microsoft 365 enable complex research and advanced data analysis in minutes.
Microsoft has announced the general availability of Researcher and Analyst, two new reasoning agents integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot. After their introduction in April within the experimental Frontier program, these tools have proven to be effective in quickly and accurately solving complex analytical work tasks. From now on, any user with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will have access to both features at no additional cost.
Researcher: the AI that researches for you
Designed to handle multi-stage research processes, Researcher relies on an advanced model developed by OpenAI, combined with Copilot’s deep search and orchestration capabilities. Among its initial use cases are impact analyses of tariffs on business lines, preparation for negotiations with suppliers, and gathering customer data before sales meetings.
The agent not only synthesizes complex information but also ensures greater accuracy and quality in its responses, thanks to the cross-referencing of authoritative sources.
Analyst: the virtual data scientist
On the other hand, Analyst emulates the iterative reasoning of an experienced data analyst. It uses OpenAI’s o3-mini model, adapted for the interpretation of business data. With the ability to execute Python code directly, Analyst provides step-by-step explanations of its processes and allows real-time visualization of the code.
Users have employed it, for example, to assess how discounts affect customer behavior, detect underutilized accounts, or analyze sentiment around products for commercial purposes—all without resorting to data science teams or external tools.
Availability and usage
Both agents are now integrated into the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and come preconfigured for immediate use. Each licensed user can run up to 25 combined queries per month. Researcher is already compatible with 37 languages, while Analyst is available in 8 languages, with expansion plans underway.
Microsoft has included a series of suggested prompts to help users get started without needing to write from scratch, although they can also be customized to meet specific needs. An example cited by the company is the request for a chronological list of 200 Microsoft product launches between 1975 and 2025, a task that Researcher resolved with verified sources and tabular format for later editorial use.
Boosting AI agents in the business environment
With this announcement, Microsoft reinforces its commitment to specialized artificial intelligence agents, which go beyond general language models to focus on solving business tasks accurately. According to Jared Spataro, Vice President at Microsoft, “Researcher and Analyst bring professional experience closer to all workers. With just a few clicks, it’s possible to transform weeks of work into minutes.”
Both tools align with Microsoft’s vision of providing a Copilot for every employee and transforming every business process through AI.
source: microsoft.com