Microsoft Launches AI-Powered Agent Mode for Word and Excel
Microsoft introduces AI-driven Agent Mode in Word and Excel, enabling users to create documents and analyze data via simple prompts.
Microsoft has unveiled a new Agent Mode in Word and Excel, powered by OpenAI's GPT-5, allowing users to generate complex documents and analyze spreadsheet data using simple text prompts. The feature is part of Microsoft's "vibe working" initiative, inspired by "vibe coding," which aims to transform productivity by enabling conversational interactions with Office tools.
Key Features
- Agent Mode: Built into Word and Excel, it generates reports, financial analyses, and other content by interpreting prompts and executing multi-step tasks with validation checks.
- Office Agent: A new addition to Copilot chat, powered by Anthropic's Claude AI, can create Word and PowerPoint files from prompts, pulling data from publicly available web sources.
Performance and Availability
- Agent Mode for Excel achieved a 57.2% accuracy rate on the SpreadsheetBench benchmark, outperforming previous AI tools but still below human experts' 71.3% accuracy.
- Currently available only in web versions of Word and Excel for Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier program participants and Microsoft 365 Personal/Family subscribers. Desktop app support is coming soon.
- Office Agent in Copilot is exclusive to US customers with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions.
Goals and Challenges
Microsoft aims to streamline document creation and data analysis, saving users time and effort. However, concerns remain about over-reliance on AI outputs, particularly in sensitive fields like finance or legal work.
"Today we’re bringing vibe working to Microsoft 365 Copilot with Agent Mode in Office apps and Office Agent in Copilot chat," said Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Office Product Group. "The latest reasoning models in Copilot unlock agentic productivity for Office artifacts."
For more details, visit Microsoft's official blog post.
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Tags: Microsoft, AI, Productivity
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David Chen
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Senior analyst focusing on AI startup ecosystem with 11 years of venture capital and startup analysis experience. Former member of Sequoia Capital AI investment team, now independent analyst writing AI startup and investment analysis articles for Forbes, Harvard Business Review and other publications.