Microsoft's business chatbot can now create apps

Driving the news: Microsoft said Tuesday that Copilot for Microsoft 365 can now describe an app or automation they need, and the chatbot will generate it.

• Users can also automate recurring tasks, such as weekly team updates that pull from multiple data sources to track progress and assign work.

What they're saying: "Every AI user can now be an AI maker," Charles Lamanna, president of Microsoft's business and industry Copilot unit, told Axios. It can also draw from all your work and web data within Copilot, Lamanna added.

• More than 50 million people currently use Power, Microsoft's low-code system for business automation. Adding support into the business version of Copilot could help that number get closer to half a billion users, per Lamanna.

Between the lines: Microsoft aims to differentiate itself by tying Copilot directly to corporate data — something other chatbots and vibe-coding tools can't natively access.

What's next: Expect Copilot to take on a bigger role in automating office workflows as generative AI shifts from answering questions to performing tasks.