Microsoft Copilot updates: skills, Teams recap and more

Key insights

• Copilot Home brings Chat and Cowork together and combines their conversation history in Recents.
• Projects are described as personal; Workspaces are designed for sharing and can include reference content and instructions.
• Excel’s Clean Data skill identifies suggested changes for review before users proceed; changes can also be undone.
• PowerPoint’s Interactive Slide option can turn content such as a timeline into an interactive slide.
• Teams intelligent recap can be enabled without keeping a meeting recording or transcript, according to the demonstration.

Microsoft Copilot’s updated Home and new app features bring Chat and Cowork into a shared starting point and add reusable skills for tasks in Excel and PowerPoint. These changes matter to Microsoft 365 users who organize ongoing work, clean spreadsheets, create presentations, manage Planner plans or review Teams meetings. Office Skills with Amy demonstrates these interfaces and workflows in a YouTube video.

What's new

The demonstrated Copilot Home page groups Chat and Cowork under Home, while the navigation also includes Code. Chat is presented as a back-and-forth conversation; Cowork is for delegating a larger task that may involve decisions and user approval. The Recents area combines Chat and Cowork conversation histories, and the demonstration places agents and skills under Plugins.

Projects and Workspaces both provide a place for related content and instructions, but the demonstration distinguishes them by sharing: Projects are personal, while Workspaces are designed to be shared with other team members. Workspaces can also use selected files, meetings, emails, SharePoint sites or Teams conversations as grounding content for Copilot. Their Audio Overview feature can use that content, with narration or dialogue presented as the available formats in the demonstration.

Other updates reach individual apps. The Excel Clean Data skill checks a dataset for issues such as inconsistent formulas, formatting and dates, then offers changes for review. PowerPoint’s Interactive Slide option can create an interactive presentation slide, while a Template Assessment skill can compare a presentation template with a brand kit. Teams intelligent recap is described as a way to receive meeting notes and follow-up tasks without retaining a recording or transcript.

Who it is for and what you need

The features shown may interest end users who work with recurring projects, spreadsheets, presentations and meetings, as well as people who manage shared workspaces or Planner plans. Cowork users can install a Planner plugin to let Cowork review and update plans and present proposed changes for approval. The demonstration says to install it only if you are comfortable with Cowork accessing those plans.

The material does not specify required Microsoft 365 or Copilot licenses, eligible plans, tenant settings, regions or release channels. It also does not establish which features are generally available, in preview or rolling out. Treat the walkthrough as evidence of the interfaces shown, not confirmation that every feature is enabled in every organization.

How it works

In the demonstrated Home experience, users can open Chat for conversational assistance or Cowork to delegate a more involved task. Automations are shown as the place to manage recurring Cowork tasks, while scheduled prompts in Copilot Chat appear under Tasks. Projects and Workspaces can hold instructions and reference material so users do not have to repeat the same context in each interaction.

1. Clean data in Excel: enter the Copilot experience, type the @ sign and search for Clean Data. Review the suggested issues, switch off changes you do not want, and proceed only when the proposed edits look right. The demonstration shows a Done step after the cleanup and says users can use Undo if they dislike a result.
2. Create an interactive PowerPoint slide: select the relevant content and choose Interactive Slide from the Home tab. The example uses a timeline. The resulting slide can be interacted with when presenting, according to the walkthrough.
3. Set up Teams recap: when creating or editing a meeting, open its options and find the Copilot and other AI section. The demonstrated setting is “Start intelligent recap when Copilot is turned on.” Organizers can turn it on or off. Recap notes and follow-up tasks are then available after the meeting in the recap area.
4. Connect Cowork to Planner: use the plus icon, open Plugins, search for Planner and install the plugin. Cowork can then review or update plans and return changes for approval.

For brand-kit work, the demonstration navigates from Copilot Home through the app launcher to Create, then More and Brand kits. It also shows a Template Assessment skill in PowerPoint. These paths are useful orientation, but the exact labels or placement may differ in an organization’s interface.

Limitations and open questions

The walkthrough does not verify licensing, administrator controls, rollout timing or availability by tenant. It also does not explain how Copilot’s meeting notes are retained, who can access them, or what policy controls apply when a recording and transcript are not saved. Admins should confirm those details in their own environment before relying on the recap workflow.

Excel’s suggested cleanup is not a substitute for review: the demonstration explicitly recommends checking the proposed changes and provides an undo option. The distinction between Projects and Workspaces is summarized as personal versus shareable, but the video does not give a complete feature-by-feature comparison. It also does not establish whether interactive slides or the skills shown work with every file, license or client.

For teams, the practical takeaway is to test these workflows with representative content and confirm permissions before enabling plugins or using meeting recap. The source material names no previous alternative for every feature, so this article does not infer how they compare with other Copilot tools.

Sources

• Office Skills with Amy’s Copilot updates walkthrough

Frequently asked questions

Where are Chat and Cowork in the new Copilot Home?

The demonstration shows both under the Home tab. Their conversation histories appear together in Recents.

How do I clean data with Copilot in Excel?

Use the @ sign to search for the Clean Data skill, review the suggested changes, and proceed when they are acceptable. The walkthrough also shows an Undo option.

Can Teams create a recap without a transcript?

The demonstration says intelligent recap can be started without keeping a recording or transcript. The source does not explain licensing, retention details or the applicable admin controls.

What license do these Copilot updates require?

The source material does not specify required licenses or plans. Check the feature and licensing details for your organization before relying on a particular workflow.