Finance edition
This week: new help in your Office apps, stricter AI rules from August, and scammers who look more and more real.
Copilot in your Office apps now finishes tasks completely
Microsoft is building more and more AI into Word, Excel, Outlook and the rest, and now lets AI carry out whole tasks on its own.
Microsoft rolled out a lot of new AI in Microsoft 365 Copilot this summer. There is now a stronger default model (GPT-5.6), you can get help and data through the Copilot window without switching between apps, and a new feature called 'Cowork' plans and carries out tasks from start to finish. For you, that means real time saved on the dull groundwork. But watch out: the calculations and final check are still your job.
Background for subscribersYou can have Copilot in Excel build a formula, for example for outstanding items older than 30 days, without knowing the formula by heart. Ask for the formula, not the bare amount: you can see and check a formula, but a calculated answer from the chat is a guess. With Copilot Vision, you can also hold a dashboard or chart up to your camera and ask questions about it. Handy for quickly understanding something, but any amount that leaves the building, you check yourself.
MCP agents now in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Between 1 and 15 July, Microsoft brought AI help directly into the core apps. Through the Copilot window you can now pull in context and data without switching between apps. Admins can share custom-made helpers (agents) with colleagues, who can use them once approved.
Background for subscribersThis is a taster.
Subscribers read the whole Finance edition: every story, each with its background in plain language.
Subscribe →Not ready for that? Read the free letter first →
AI and tech, made simple.
This is the Finance edition. Subscribers get the background to every story, in plain language.
Subscribe
inklaretaal · Amsterdam · © 2026