Microsoft has unveiled a major upgrade to its Copilot AI product, and investors welcomed the move. According to CNBC, the company’s shares rose more than 4% on Friday, even as the broader iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF was down about 0.4%.
The centerpiece of the update is a new unified Copilot app. It brings together existing tools in one place, including the basic chatbot Chat and the more advanced Cowork version. Microsoft also added a new Code feature aimed at non-technical employees, along with an Autopilot tab that lets users create autonomous agents to complete specific tasks.
CEO Satya Nadella said on social media that Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel, is now fully embedded in the Copilot app. He described the release as the biggest update to Copilot so far.
Microsoft is also changing Copilot’s pricing model. The basic Chat function will continue under a flat per-user license, while the more advanced Cowork, Code and Autopilot features will be priced based on usage.
Jacob Andreou, executive vice president for Microsoft Copilot, told CNBC that every technology era tends to produce a defining interface. In his view, Office played that role for workplace computing in the PC era, and Copilot could become the equivalent interface for AI, especially in business settings.
CNBC noted that Microsoft had faced criticism for lagging behind Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the race to bring AI into the enterprise. That makes Friday’s strong market reaction particularly notable. The company’s messaging also suggests a sharper focus on business customers rather than the consumer chatbot battle.
Analysts at Piper Sandler said in a note to clients that this appears to be the MSFT “super app” that investors had been speculating about for months, and they viewed the changes favorably. They added that the narrative around Copilot has improved materially this year.
CNBC Investing Club said the Copilot refresh is another reason investors have remained confident in Microsoft. Still, the broader market backdrop remains tense: the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched 5.23% on Friday, its highest level since mid-June 2007.
