TLDR
- Microsoft launched Copilot Cowork, built on Anthropic’s Claude Cowork technology, for Microsoft 365 enterprise users
- The tool handles tasks like building presentations, pulling data into Excel, and scheduling meetings with limited human input
- MSFT stock is down 15% year-to-date and fell nearly 9% in February following Anthropic’s original Claude Cowork launch
- Microsoft is adding Claude Sonnet models to M365 Copilot, reducing its sole reliance on OpenAI’s GPT models
- Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats grew 160% year-over-year in the most recent quarter
Microsoft launched Copilot Cowork on Monday, a new AI agent tool built in collaboration with Anthropic. The product brings Claude Cowork’s autonomous capabilities directly into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
The tool can build presentations, populate Excel spreadsheets, and email colleagues to arrange meetings — all with minimal human input. It is currently in testing and will reach early-access enterprise users later this month.
Microsoft positioned the launch around its security credentials. Unlike Claude Cowork, which runs locally on a device, Copilot Cowork operates entirely in the cloud.
“We work only in a cloud environment and we work only on behalf of the user. So you know exactly what information it has access to,” said Jared Spataro, who leads Microsoft’s AI-at-Work efforts.
The timing is deliberate. Anthropic’s original Claude Cowork debut on January 30 sent a wave of fear through software stocks. Salesforce (CRM), ServiceNow (NOW), Intuit (INTU), and Thomson Reuters (TRI) all dropped sharply.
Microsoft was not immune. Its own stock fell nearly 9% in February following the Cowork launch. MSFT is now down 15% since the start of 2026.
Diversifying Beyond OpenAI
Monday’s announcement also marks a quiet but clear shift in Microsoft’s AI model strategy. The company said it is making Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet models available to M365 Copilot users — a service that previously ran exclusively on OpenAI’s GPT models.
OpenAI accounts for nearly 45% of Microsoft’s cloud business contract backlog, a concentration that has made some investors uneasy. Adding Anthropic to the mix gives Microsoft more flexibility.
Pricing for Copilot Cowork was not disclosed. Microsoft said some usage will be included in its existing $30-per-user, per-month M365 Copilot plan, with additional usage available to purchase separately.
Enterprise Adoption Numbers
Microsoft’s enterprise AI numbers have been moving in the right direction. Paid M365 Copilot seats grew 160% year-over-year in its most recent quarter, with daily active usage up 10x.
The number of customers deploying Copilot at more than 35,000 seats tripled year-over-year. Recent rollouts include Mercedes-Benz, NASA, Fiserv, ING, and the US Department of the Interior.
Microsoft also announced new agentic AI features for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Its Microsoft Agent 365 governance platform is now generally available at $15 per user per month.
The company bundled its full suite — including Entra, Copilot 365, and Agent 365 — into a new Microsoft 365 E7 package priced at $99 per user per month.
Microsoft stock was trading at $408.96 at Friday’s close, down 0.42%, with pre-market activity showing a further decline of around 1.1% to $404.41 on Monday morning.
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