Hey, Insiders! I’m Yash Kamalanath, a Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft 365 companion apps team. I’m excited to share that the companion apps – People, Files, and Calendar – are now smarter than ever: Microsoft 365 Copilot is built into People and Files, with Copilot in Calendar coming soon. These smart agents make finding what you need and getting things done in Windows lightning fast.
Work smarter with Copilot in the People, Files, and Calendar apps
Looking up a colleague, finding a file, or checking what’s next on your calendar should be effortless, but it’s easy to get distracted between tasks. With People, Files, and Calendar apps, everything you need is just a click away on the taskbar. These Copilot-integrated apps surface the right content in real time so you can stay focused and keep your work moving.
With Copilot, each companion app will be grounded in your work data – people, files, meetings – making them the fastest and easiest way to prompt for relevant questions. Companion apps offer instant suggestions for every item, plus a freeform box for your own prompts. For example, you can catch up on the latest from your top collaborators, flag comments that need your input, or recap meetings you missed. Start simple with a search in a companion app and seamlessly hand off to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app with full context for more complex inquiries – no extra steps needed.
Copilot in People: Pick up on updates from your collaborators
With Copilot, the People app goes beyond names and title searches – it surfaces recent communications, highlights key responsibilities, and suggests tailored prompts to help you connect and collaborate with teammates across your organization.
Gather more insights by asking Copilot:
- “Tell me about John.”
- “What’s the latest from John?”
- “Show me follow up tasks with John.”
Copilot in Files: Learn more about your content
In the Files app, you can start a Copilot conversation directly from the content to summarize documents or presentations, review changes, analyze data, and create action items – without breaking your flow.
Gather more insights by asking Copilot:
- “What’s the context for this?”
- “Summarize this workbook.”
- “Highlight key figures or trends.”
Copilot in Calendar: Keep your workday on track
Coming soon, Copilot will be integrated into the Calendar app, where you will be able to get meeting summaries and prep material to catch up and prepare for your day, manage your schedule in real time from your taskbar, and get up to speed in seconds on missed conversations.
Gather more insights by asking Copilot:
- “Suggest talking points for this meeting.”
- “Check for action items.”
- “Key takeaways from this meeting.”
Availability
Copilot in the companion apps is available for Windows 11 users who have Microsoft 365 companion apps installed, are on either Enterprise or Business SKUs, and have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Copilot in People and Files is available immediately, and Copilot in Calendar will become available soon. As an admin, you can pin the Microsoft 365 Copilot app together with selected companion apps to the Windows 11 taskbar on Intune-managed devices. This provides users with quick access to Copilot features such as Chat, Search, and Agents.
Learn more about setting up People, Files, and Calendar: Microsoft 365 companions apps overview - Microsoft 365 Apps.
Learn more about pinning Microsoft 365 Copilot and its companion apps to the Windows taskbar: Pin Microsoft 365 Copilot and its companion apps to the Windows taskbar.
Feedback
We’re excited to bring you these new capabilities, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on how these companion apps are working for you! Share feedback or suggestions anytime using the Give Feedback button in the top-right corner of any of the companion apps.
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