Microsoft"s Copilot has infiltrated pretty much every aspect of Redmond"s software, whether we like it or not. It"s present in Windows 11, Excel, Teams, Edge, and more. Now, Microsoft has introduced Copilot upgrades for Forms and Word for iPad.
Starting off with Forms, Microsoft has revamped the Copilot experience so that it integrates with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Similar to other Office apps (and much to the chagrin of its users), the Redmond tech giant has inserted a floating Dynamic Action Button (DAB) for Copilot in the bottom-right section of Forms. It allows you to invoke contextual assistance from the AI model, since it is grounded in the active form.
Through this chat interface, Copilot can suggest improvements related to the form"s organizational layout, sectioning, missing questions, and conflicting configurations. It can perform bulk edits on your behalf and also provide summaries of the form"s results. Another key improvement includes implementation of basic branching logic through the AI agent, but some complex branching scenarios are not yet supported so manual validation by the form author is essential. These upgrades are rolling out worldwide to Microsoft 365 commercial Copilot users, and those with a consumer license will see the previous, that is, existing, integration for now.
Switching gears to Word for iPad, customers are getting a Copilot feature that has already been available for some time on desktop, web, and mobile. That is the ability to collaborate and co-create documents with Copilot. This allows the AI assistant to perform in-place edits while preserving your document"s formatting and structure, allowing it to transform content, streamline the editing experience, and cause minimum interruptions to your workflow.
Users can leverage this feature by clicking on Edit document and selecting the Copilot button to open the chat interface. Microsoft has emphasized that customers should be specific in their prompts, but assured them that all changes can be previewed before they are applied and can be easily rolled back too. Copilot cannot create a new document, insert images into a document, and add or edit comments yet. The latest update is now available for all customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot who are using Word for iPad Version 2.109 (Build 26051516) or later.