Event details

In this episode, Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook connect the dots between Microsoft's AI strategy, the evolution of Dataverse, and the emerging IQ platform vision unveiled at Build 2026.

Join Karuana and Cook for this episode of Mondays at Microsoft as they break down the biggest Microsoft announcements across AI, Modern Work, Power Platform, Business Applications, Azure, and Developer technologies.

In this episode:

🧠 Copilot's new brain—GPT-5.6: Microsoft 365 Copilot now prefers GPT-5.6 across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Cowork, while Microsoft continues expanding its MAI model strategy. What does this mean for the future of AI-powered productivity?

đź”— Dataverse becomes the agent data platform: The Dataverse plugin for coding agents now extends beyond GitHub Copilot to Claude and Cursor, alongside a growing MCP ecosystem with 60+ servers and certified partner integrations.

🧩 Welcome to the “IQ” era: From Work IQ and Foundry IQ to the introduction of Web IQ, Microsoft's next-generation knowledge and retrieval stack is taking shape. Plus, we discuss new MAI models and an early look at Project Solara.

Big Rocks & Product Updates:

Available today: OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 in Microsoft 365 Copilot — aka.ms/GPT56Available

3M and Microsoft announce strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation — aka.ms/3MBlog

Dataverse Is Your Agent Data Platform: Here’s What’s New in July 2026 by Julie Koesmarno — aka.ms/DataverseAgentDataBlog

Seven predictions about AI and the future of work from our Chief Scientist Dr. Jaime Teevan — aka.ms/JaimeTeevanAIPredictionsBlog

A more efficient way to access email and meeting information with Narrator by Shireen Salma — aka.ms/OutlookNarratorBlog

Power CAT AI Webinar | Next session on Wedneday, July 22nd at 9:00AM PT — aka.ms/PowerCatWebinarAlmirall

Events

Community Days | AI Business Solutions Partner Executive Summit | July 27-28 | Renton, Washington, United States 

Community Days | M365 Community Days NYC | July 31 | New York City, New York, United States 

Community Days | Seattle TechCon 365 | DATACON | PWRCON | August 24-28 | Seattle, Washington, United  

Community Days | M365 Twin Cities | September 18 | Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, United States 

Community Days | Partner Vibe 2.0 | September 21-23 | Provo, Utah 

Community Days | European Microsoft Fabric + SQL Community Conference 2026 | September 28 - October 1 | Barcelona, Spain 

Our Show Links:

đź“… Mondays at Microsoft Links including a download for calendar: https://aka.ms/MondaysAtMicrosoft

đź“ť Our Microsoft Tech Community News Desk for Monday's recaps, Meet the Makers show and more: https://aka.ms/CommunityNewsDesk

🎙️ Listen to Mondays at Microsoft on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — https://aka.ms/MondaysAtMicrosoft

🌍 Discover the Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI) — https://aka.ms/MGCI

Microsoft Community page on Facebook:

https://aka.ms/MSCommunityFB

đź””Microsoft Community on LinkedIn:

https://aka.ms/MSCommunityLIMM

MSFT Adoption on Twitter:

https://x.com/MSFTAdoption

Aaron_Bode
Updated Jul 20, 2026
Mondays at Microsoft