Satya Nadella announces new features for researchers in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Satya Nadella

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced two new advanced reasoning agents—Researcher and Analyst—for Microsoft 365 Copilot, aimed at transforming how professionals conduct research and data analysis at work. The company says the tools combine secure access to enterprise data with deep reasoning models to deliver insights faster and more accurately.

The Researcher agent is designed to help users tackle complex, multi-step research tasks by synthesizing information across emails, files, chats, and the web. Built on OpenAI’s deep research model and Microsoft’s orchestration capabilities, it can generate detailed strategic insights, identify market opportunities, and create comprehensive reports.

For example, Researcher can build a go-to-market strategy based on internal work data and competitive trends or develop a quarterly review that integrates client communication and external market analysis. The tool also supports third-party connectors, allowing integration with platforms such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Confluence for deeper insights.

The Analyst agent, meanwhile, functions as a skilled data scientist within Microsoft 365 Copilot. It uses OpenAI’s o3-mini reasoning model and chain-of-thought reasoning to perform iterative, high-quality data analysis. Analyst can execute Python scripts, visualize customer patterns, forecast demand, or project revenues—all while allowing users to view and verify its analytical process in real time.

Both agents operate with secure and compliant access to work data, ensuring that insights are grounded in enterprise information while maintaining data governance. Microsoft also announced deep reasoning and agent flows within Copilot Studio, enabling organizations to design custom agents that can execute multi-step business processes autonomously.

These new features align with Microsoft’s goal of embedding AI-powered expertise across every workflow. Nadella emphasized that Copilot’s evolution marks a shift from individual productivity to intelligent collaboration—where agents reason, plan, and act alongside users.

Microsoft confirmed that Researcher and Analyst will begin rolling out to Microsoft 365 Copilot license holders in April 2025 as part of the company’s new Frontier program, which provides early access to emerging Copilot capabilities.

Additionally, Copilot Studio’s autonomous agent features are now generally available, allowing businesses to build and deploy agents that can initiate actions independently. The Copilot Control System will continue to provide IT administrators with governance and oversight tools to manage access and usage securely.