Microsoft Word

Use Copilot to see a summary of the latest comments and changes made to your Word files using the Copilot chat pane.

GA: September CY2026

We're now introducing the third generation of the Microsoft 365 sharing experience designed to make collaboration simpler, smarter, and more secure by default. At the heart of this update is the new hero link, a single, powerful link that controls access to your files. Whether you copy a link, share via email, or send the URL from your browser, you now have a seamless and consistent way to share and stay in control of your files.

GA: October CY2026

In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the ‘Prevent some connected experiences that analyze content’ label setting now prevents files in these apps from being sent to all Microsoft connected experiences for analysis, rather than a subset of these connected experiences.

GA: June CY2026 · Preview: May CY2026

Use your voice to talk with Copilot, interact in-real time, and understand the content within your document or presentation. Updated September 9, 2026: We will be re-releasing this feature with updates in October. Thank you for your patience.

GA: October CY2026

Edit with Copilot in Word is now available to users in Office 365 GCC, enabling government customers to work with Copilot as a co-creator directly in your document to create, refine, and transform documents more efficiently.

GA: October CY2026

We are updating the entry point user interface for Copilot Chat. The Copilot Chat entry point button will move out of the app ribbon to the app canvas to help with discoverability and use within the context of the file. This update will apply to Microsoft 365 users of Word, Excel and PowerPoint who are eligible for Copilot Chat across web, mobile and desktop.

GA: December CY2025

Interact in real time with read aloud in Word with Copilot. While your document is being read aloud, you can ask questions with your voice—such as “What does this mean?” or “Summarize this section”—and get answers instantly. No need to pause and search manually. This keeps you in context, reduces interruptions, and helps you understand and act faster.

GA: February CY2026

When drafting content using the inline canvas Copilot experience that's based on referenced sources, Copilot includes citations in the text it generates, indicating references to information in the content.

GA: August CY2025

The Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention policy to restrict Microsoft 365 Copilot processing sensitive files in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will now apply regardless of file storage location.

GA: April CY2026

Copilot supports document editing in Word through chat-based interactions with Agent Mode. Users can initiate edits, share clarifying directions, and review a summary of changes within the document.

GA: November CY2025

Organizations can build their own collections of prompts that are tailored to their business needs and workflows and distribute these to all users within the tenant.

GA: June CY2026

Office for the web in Microsoft 365 supports the application of sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions.

GA: April CY2026

You can choose to select Anthropic models, in addition to OpenAI models, when editing a Word document using Copilot.

GA: May CY2026