Microsoft is introducing a Power Automate plugin in Copilot in Windows that could upgrade the Copilot experience with significant new automation capabilities.

Microsoft Power Automate is a versatile tool designed to automate repetitive tasks efficiently. Whether working with Microsoft-made apps, third-party services, or web platforms, it can intelligently record steps and create flows, simplifying the process of regular tasks.

After installing Power Automate and activating its plugin with Copilot in Windows, users can leverage automation features for Excel as well as file management that improve upon the Copilot feature set that is currently available.

Microsoft’s Windows Insider Blog wrote:

We’re excited to introduce the Power Automate plugin in Copilot in Windows(…) Power Automate is a low-code automation solution that is part of the Power Platform. This first release of the plugin offers automation features for Excel, PDF manipulation and file management.”

To access the plugin, users must ensure they have downloaded or updated Power Automate Desktop to the latest version available on the Microsoft Store. Plugins are only available when users sign in to Copilot in Windows using a Microsoft account.

Microsoft cited some compelling examples of how transformative this update might be for the Copilot experience, including being able to automate writing emails to teams wishing them a happy weekend, listing the top five highest mountains in the world in an Excel file, renaming all PDF files in a folder to add the word final at the end, moving all word documents to another folder, splitting a PDF by the first page for the user.

New Copilot in Windows Capabilities Also Added

However, Power Automate isn’t the only source for substantial Copilot in Windows improvements, including significant enhancements to accessibility-focused settings.

“Try asking Copilot to turn on Narrator or Live Captions, turn on battery saver, show you available networks, even empty your recycle bin or clean up your storage,” Microsoft’s blog noted.

The list of new possibilities is exhaustive and includes being able to ask Copilot for available wireless networks, for system or device information, for battery information, to clean storage, to empty recycle bin, to toggle battery saver, to show startup apps, for a user’s IP address, and system, device, or storage information.

Around new accessibility features specifically, users can ask Copilot to turn on narrator, to open voice access, to turn on magnifier, to change text size, to start live captions, to turn on high-contrast, and to start voice typing.

Copilot features that are already live in Windows include being able to ask to toggle dark/light theme, to toggle Bluetooth, to toggle do not disturb, to add a device, to take a screenshot, to cast your screen to another monitor, to change your background image, to set volume, change volume, or mute/unmute volume, to launch an application, to snap a window, and to start a focus session.

Users can also state that certain parts of your PC aren’t working: Audio, Windows Update, Camera, Bluetooth, Printer, Network, and others.

Copilot’s February

January constituted a significant start to 2024 for Copilot, featuring Microsoft removing the seat minimum for Copilot for Microsoft 365, opening up its enterprise-targeting AI-powered productivity tool to businesses of any scale, a new Copilot key being announced to ship on various new PCs and laptops, the launch of Copilot Pro, a $20 per user per month subscription targeting Microsoft 365 Personal and Family consumer users, and the launch of Android and iOS apps for Copilot.

February has seen that momentum continue. Last week, Microsoft updated the Copilot experience in Teams with an improved UI, smarter prompts and a detailed chat history.

While maintaining the core functionality and content accessibility of its predecessor, the latest Copilot in Teams introduces tailored prompts to cater to individual user requirements, incorporating personalised elements such as colleagues’ information, scheduled meetings, and pertinent files. Additionally, users can access their Copilot chat history and take advantage of a comprehensive library of prompts via Microsoft’s Copilot Lab.

The upgraded experience for Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscribers rolled out on Monday, February 12.



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