This week, Zoe and Kevin dig into Copilot Cowork and Agent 365. Fresh from a week at the Microsoft campus in Seattle, Kevin shares his key takeaways from MVP Summit — including a surprising amount of cross-product collaboration and a hands-on experiment building a conference bingo app entirely using GitHub Copilot's coding agent. Zoe and Kevin then dive into two of the biggest recent announcements: Copilot Cowork, now available in Frontier tenants, which takes Copilot from answering questions to actually taking action on your behalf, from organising your inbox to scheduling your week and creating reusable skills; and Agent 365, Microsoft's control plane for agents, launching on 1 May, which brings observability, governance, and threat protection for all your agents in one place. They also cover the practical steps to enable Cowork in your tenant, the current data residency considerations for European organisations, and the open licensing questions still to be resolved before general availability.

Useful links:

• Lab that Kevin mentioned https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-agent-lab-soc-ops
• kevmcdonk/mvp-summit-bingo: Web app for MVPs to track all those common phrases we hear over the week. Who will get bingo first
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-work-done
• Get started with Copilot Cowork (Frontier) | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Agent 365 documentation | Microsoft Learn

Microsoft helped us make an episode this week but dropping some big Copilot news! In this episode, Zoe and Kevin dig into some of the news related around Copilot Wave 3, talk about what the recent org changes at Microsoft will mean and also highlight some of the upcoming events going on.

Useful links:

• Zoe and Kevin keynote the Copilot Community Conference - Copilot Community Conference 2026
• Experts Live UK
• Scottish Summit
• Call for speakers for Scottish Summit still open
• Rajesh Jha retiring
• Copilot Leadership Team
• Frontier Suite
• Copilot Wave 3
• SharePoint at 25
• Copilot Cowork

In this episode of Copilot Connection, Zoe and Kevin are joined by Diana Wolfe, Head of Research & Strategy at Kyndryl, to explore one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today: the widening gap between AI ambition and AI implementation. Together, they unpack why so many companies struggle to realise value from AI investments, what human‑centred change looks like in an era of agentic AI, and how trust, psychological safety, and redesigned roles shape successful adoption.

The conversation covers everything from workflow automation myths and cognitive overload to organisational silos, identity shifts, and the realities of embedding AI into everyday work. Expect thoughtful insights, a few laughs (including designer chickens and the underpants gnomes), and practical guidance on how individuals, leaders, and change practitioners can navigate the next phase of AI‑driven transformation.

Tune in to learn why the future of AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about people, systems, and redefining what meaningful work looks like.

Takeaways

• AI implementation requires a holistic approach
• The integration of AI technology presents multifaceted challenges AI adoption is evolving rapidly
• Human systems integration is crucial for responsible AI implementation

Send us a text

In this episode of the Copilot Connection, hosts Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell discuss the latest updates in the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem, including a new feature called Copilot Labs (not Lab...), insights from the upcoming Microsoft Ignite conference, and the importance of AI integration in business. They also touch on the significance of empowering neurodivergent employees and the community's engagement in upcoming events. They also have a new AI generated summary - what do you think?

Links

• Introducing Copilot Vision
• Meet the new Copilot

Ignite sessions
Session catalog at https://ignite.microsoft.com where you can search for codes.

Build and extend agents with Microsoft Copilot studio | LAB433
Code-first development workshop for Copilot agents | LAB441
Extending M365 Copilot with Copilot agents: Best practices | BRK170
Part 1:2 Declarative Agents: Build Agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot | LAB445
Reinventing business processes with autonomous agents | BRK169
Smarter workflows with ServiceNow Now Assist and Copilot integration | ODFP974

Ground Microsoft 365 Copilot in your business knowledge | BRK275
Microsoft 365 Copilot advantages: How does it compare with other AI solutions | BRK276
SharePoint content management reimagined with Copilot | BRK279
Unlock smart collaboration with Microsoft Teams | BRK280

Revolutionizing Employee Experience with AI | BRK283
The Future of Power Platform: Intelligent Apps | BRK171

From Copilot to code-first: the power of Microsoft Fabric and AI | THR618
Bring on-device ML to enterprise apps with Windows Copilot Library | BRK303
Copilot+ PCs: Your new superpower | THR650
Mastering custom plugins in Microsoft Security Copilot | THR653
Build real-time collab experiences with Fluid and Copilot | LAB440
Empowering neurodivergent employees with Copilot | BRK297

Send us a text

In this episode of the Copilot Connection, Kevin McDonnell is joined by Garry Trinder, a developer advocate at Microsoft focused on Microsoft 365 and Copilot. With Microsoft Build taking place this week, they recap the Copilot related news that came out with a special focus on extensions and custom copilots. Plenty of chat about why you should extend, the different ways to extend and when to extend or go custom. Plus find out how many times Copilot was mentioned in the first day keynotes thanks to Vlad Catrinescu.

Useful links:

M365 Conf sessions - some online now including the age of copilots -Introducing the Community News Desk with essential content from Microsoft 365 Community Conference

Vlad Catrinescu comedy recap Microsoft Build 2024 Keynote Recap in under 5 minutes!

Book of News - https://news.microsoft.com/build-2024-book-of-news/

GPT-4o demo by Seth Juarez - Conversational website: Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024

Copilot+PC - Introducing Copilot+ PCs - The Official Microsoft Blog

VS Code for Education - https://vscodeedu.com

Note that you need a Copilot license to use this with Copilot Studio - Use graph connections with knowledge sources - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn

https://aka.ms/extendcopilotm365/decide

Useful Build sessions:

BRK 150: Developers guide to customizing Copilot - slides available too
BRK 151: Developer deep dive on building plugins for Microsoft Copilot
BRK203: Building a copilot: Azure AI Studio or Copilot Studio

Send us a text

Twelth of twelve mini episodes as we bring our interviews from MVP Summit.

Interviewee today - Mark Rackley

Mark thinks that copilot is a vague term that can mean different things to different people, and he wants to help people understand what it is. Mark has some great use cases like finding presentations that were shared with him by using natural language queries.

Listen to find out how he thinks the equity of availability of Copilot could impact the future and what he wishes for next.

Mark Rackley | LinkedIn
Mark Rackley 🐗 @NACollabSummit @Techsplaining (@mrackley) / X (twitter.com)

Send us a text

Welcome to Copilot Connection, the podcast that explores the world of Microsoft Copilots! Join your hosts, Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell, as they take you on a journey through the different Copilots available and how they can help you in your day-to-day life. From the newly launch date announced Microsoft 365 Copilot to the Dynamics 365, GitHub, Windows, Custom and more Copilots, we'll cover it all. Our upbeat and engaging conversations with experts in the field will keep you entertained and informed. Tune in to Copilot Connection and discover how these AI-powered assistants can transform the way you work!

Send us a text

Welcome to a brand new way of hearing about the latest Copilot extensibility news! In this episode of the Copilot Connection, Kevin swaps out Zoe for Garry Trinder in the first of a spin-off of episodes where we dig deeper into the extensibility side of Copilot.

In this first episode, we go into an overview of the options that you have for extending Copilot. We talk cover why you would need to extend Copilot, the different ways you can do that (whether by end user, maker or specialist) and touch a little on how you can actually get started with doing it.

Is there a specific topic that you'd like to see us cover? Let us know!

Takeaways

• Extensibility in Copilot allows developers to create tailored solutions.
• Understanding AI maturity is crucial for effective implementation.
• Personalization of AI tools enhances user experience and productivity.
• Scoping and context are essential for effective use of Copilot.
• Integrating external knowledge sources can enhance AI capabilities.
• Balancing deterministic and non-deterministic approaches is key in AI applications.
• Declarative agents simplify the process of building AI solutions.
• Responsible AI practices are necessary when developing custom solutions.
• Continuous learning and adaptation are vital in the evolving AI landscape.

Related links

• Copilot extensibility learning paths
• Copilot camp - no actual camping required
• Community samples
• Pro dev community samples