What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot: September 2025
September is over, and with it came some fresh updates to Copilot across Microsoft 365, GitHub, and beyond. Like always, some are brand new, others are improved, and a few are the kind that sneak up on you when you least expect it (like the last donut in the breakroom mysteriously disappearing). Let’s dig in.
At a Glance
- Copilot Chat is now live in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
- Smarter search spans across Microsoft 365 and third-party tools.
- OneNote gets new Copilot Notebooks to organize ideas.
- There are expanded admin controls and customization options.
- GitHub Copilot can now generate code from images.
- The Power BI Copilot experience has been streamlined.
- Windows 11 adds ‘Share with Copilot’ to the taskbar.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot app auto-install begins in October (outside EU/EEA).
Copilot Chat in Microsoft 365 Apps (New)
Copilot Chat is now rolling out inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Open a file and Copilot is right there with context-aware answers, summaries, and guidance. This means no more bouncing between windows or guessing what to ask.
Smarter Search in the Copilot App (New)
The Microsoft 365 Copilot app just got smarter. Type in plain English, “Find the slide deck I shared last week,” and it will search across files, emails, Teams, even Salesforce or Jira. No more digital scavenger hunts, just answers.
OneNote Copilot Notebooks (New)
OneNote is getting some love with Copilot Notebooks. It bundles your notes, files, and Copilot chats into one hub. Finally, a way to keep your “million-dollar ideas” from living on sticky notes that vanish into the void of your backpack.
Extensibility & Customization (Improved)
Admins and power users, rejoice. Copilot now lets you do more under the hood: Users can benefit from tighter control over which data sources it uses, smarter ways to pull actions from Teams meetings, and advanced scripting options in ServiceNow connectors.
Translation: More power, fewer excuses for “it didn’t work in the demo.”
GitHub Copilot: Code Gets Visual (New)
Over on the GitHub side, Copilot now supports images in chat context inside Eclipse. If you upload a sketch of a UI, Copilot will generate the HTML, turning rough ideas into functional code in seconds.
Power BI Copilot (Improved)
Copilot in Power BI just got easier to find and use. The standalone experience is now the default, making insights and report creation faster. If you’re the type who dreads digging through menus, this one is for you.
Windows 11 & Copilot+ PCs (Improved)
Insider builds are adding a “Share with Copilot” button right on the taskbar. Need Copilot to see what’s on your screen and help you out? With one click, it’s in the loop. You could consider it the closest thing to “Hey, watch this” for your PC.
Auto-Install Alert (New-ish)
Starting in October, Microsoft will auto-install the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices (outside of the EU/EEA). IT admins can opt out, but if you don’t, you can expect Copilot to just… appear. Think of it like your PC adopting a puppy, only this one helps you write emails.
Other Updates to Watch
- File Explorer Copilot menu: New “Ask Copilot” option and richer previews in Windows 11
- Studio Effects for external webcams: AI background blur and filters now work with USB cameras
- Power BI Copilot default-on: No more digging to enable it
- GitHub Copilot agents: Assign Azure Boards items and run code reviews inside more IDEs
- iOS file previews: Open Word/Excel/PowerPoint in the Copilot app, with editing routed to native apps
- Microsoft Lens retirement: Scanning tools shift into the Microsoft 365 Copilot app
- Admin visibility improvements: Better sync/error reporting and connector catalog browsing
My Take
September feels like the month Copilot stopped asking for permission and just pulled up a chair at the table. It’s in your apps, on your taskbar, and in your dev tools. Now, it’s even showing up on your machine whether you invited it or not. The story here isn’t a shiny new feature; it’s momentum.
Microsoft is making it clear: Copilot isn’t a sidekick anymore, it’s part of the workflow. The winners will be the folks who stop treating it like a novelty and start building it into their daily routines before the rest of the office catches on.
