Introduction to the Revamped Copilot App
Microsoft has introduced a redesigned Copilot desktop app that brings together three core experiences: Home, Code, and Autopilot, into a unified platform. According to TechEdt, this update brings several of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence tools together in a single experience. The updated app combines conversational AI, software development, and autonomous task management under three main areas: Home, Code, and Autopilot.
The three experiences appear as separate Home, Code, and Autopilot tabs in the new desktop app. The launch of this unified Copilot app was also reported by Petri, Thurrott, and Microsoft. Microsoft stated that “Home is your new starting point, where Chat and Cowork come together.” On September 25, 2026, Microsoft unveiled this version of Copilot rebuilt around these three tabs.
Home Tab: Central Workspace and Office Integration
The Home section or tab combines the standard Copilot chat interface with Copilot Cowork, allowing users to interact with Microsoft’s AI through conversation and delegate more involved tasks to the service. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are integrated into the experience. Users can review activity, resume tasks, generate content, and work directly with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files without switching between applications.
According to Microsoft, “Home is your new starting point, where Chat and Cowork come together with Office in Copilot, the full power of Word, Excel and PowerPoint is now built into the experience.” Petri describes Home as a central workspace that combines conversational AI and delegated work management in a single interface. Thurrott notes that from Home, users will be able to ask the chatbot to create Office documents that can be shared with coworkers. These Copilot-created documents will also be synced with the Office apps.
Code Tab: AI-Assisted Development for All Users
The Code feature or tab is powered by the same underlying technology as GitHub Copilot. Microsoft states that Code lets everyone build their own solutions with the tools to run them safely. It is intended to make development tools available to a wider audience, including non-developers.
TechEdt reports that Code allows users to build and manage software with AI assistance. It is designed to let non-developers build applications, dashboards, automations, and workflows using natural language commands. Code runs in a sandboxed environment and can be hosted within a customer’s Microsoft 365 tenant.
Pasquale Pillitteri clarifies that Code sits alongside GitHub Copilot, using the same technology but targeting people who aren’t developers, producing internal apps, dashboards, and automations inside the company tenant. GitHub Copilot remains the tool for those who write code every day. Thurrott adds that tasks started in Code will also sync with the standalone GitHub Copilot service.
Autopilot: Persistent Digital Agent
Autopilot, formerly known as Microsoft’s Scout project, is described by Microsoft as a persistent, proactive, and personal agent that keeps working even when users are not actively engaged. It is powered by OpenClaw and is designed to operate continuously in the background. Autopilot handles tasks, monitors communications, and participates in workflows across Microsoft Teams, Outlook, chats, channels, and documents.
TechEdt reports that Autopilot is intended to handle tasks on a user’s behalf and continue working without requiring a new instruction for every step. Petri notes that Autopilot monitors communications, follows up on tasks, and manages recurring business processes, participating in workflows while remaining subject to organizational permissions and governance controls.
Thurrott describes Autopilot as a digital teammate with access to its own computer to perform tasks using an organization’s data. It is cloud-hosted, so it keeps working while users are away. Pasquale Pillitteri adds that Autopilot is an agent with a name, a role, and a goal assigned by its owner, and it keeps working inside Microsoft 365 even when nobody is using it.
Availability and Access Requirements
Scout (Autopilot) is already available in an experimental form through Microsoft’s Frontier program, as well as to a limited number of customers through a private preview. Autopilot will become available in private preview at the end of the month, with the private preview expanding at that time.
Organizations seeking access must enroll in Frontier, configure an Intune policy, complete an opt-in attestation, and hold a GitHub Copilot license. Frontier is described as Microsoft’s early-access channel.
Home and Code tabs and features will start rolling out to Microsoft’s unified Copilot app for Frontier-enrolled customers in the coming weeks. Code is scheduled to begin rolling out to Frontier users at the end of September. Wider availability is expected in the following weeks. Microsoft has also said the feature is expected to enter preview for Microsoft 365 Premium and Pro subscribers later this year.
Expanding Data Sources and Integrations
Microsoft is expanding Copilot data sources and integrations through the Microsoft IQ platform. This includes Fabric IQ, which brings trusted context from data, including over 20 million semantic models in Power BI, into Copilot. Fabric IQ is generally available in Chat and Cowork, with Code integration coming through the Frontier program soon.
Rolling out over the next month in public preview, Copilot is now grounded in data and workflows from Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Petri reports that these integrations aim to provide richer business context, enabling Copilot to reference operational data, customer information, workflows, and support records when generating recommendations or completing tasks.
Copilot Managed Runtime and Plugin Registry
Microsoft has launched the Copilot Managed Runtime platform, which provides IT-controlled infrastructure for securely running AI-generated applications. Copilot Managed Runtime is now in preview and will also be accessible inside Code.
Microsoft is also bringing a unified plugin registry to combine Microsoft, partner, and custom plugins into one catalog. This registry is rolling out now and will be generally available across Copilot surfaces in the coming weeks. Petri notes that this unified plugin registry is intended to simplify how organizations deploy, manage, and govern Copilot extensions.
Billing and Pricing Structure
Cowork, Code, Autopilot, new long-running agentic capabilities, and frontier models like Astra and Fable all run on usage-based billing (UBB). Copilot in Chat pricing depends on user subscription licenses.
Ongoing Updates and Feature Roadmap
GitHub Copilot continues to receive weekly releases, which add new models, local sandboxing in the Copilot app, and updates to Copilot in Slack, Microsoft Teams, JetBrains, and VS Code.
Within Slack and Microsoft Teams, Copilot now gives users more context, more control, and a clearer path from conversation to GitHub work.
Looking ahead, the Today feature will enter private preview in October in Copilot. It will also be coming to Outlook and Teams. The @Copilot capability will be in private preview in Teams by the end of the month.
Additional Source-Backed Details
Jared Spataro serves as Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer, AI at Work (also referred to as head of marketing for AI at work) and authored the official blog announcement for the new Copilot app.
Sources
- GitHub Copilot weekly releases — September 21
- Updates to GitHub Copilot for Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft launches revamped Copilot app with Home …
Explore more AI Industry coverage.
