Microsoft announced this week that Copilot Studio is about to launch a new computer usage feature. This capability will allow users to build AI-driven agents that can interact with desktop and browser applications, provided these third-party systems have a graphical user interface.
User-friendly automation accessible to non-developers
Currently, Microsoft Copilot Studio users can create agents to automate tasks within third-party applications, but only for specific services. With the computer usage feature, agents can interact with third-party apps and websites just like humans do—clicking buttons, entering information on the screen, and selecting from menus. This opens up endless possibilities for automating business processes.
The new computer usage feature in Copilot Studio is designed to make robotic process automation more intuitive and accessible to everyday users. By leveraging natural language processing, offering full visibility into computer usage history, and providing automatic responses to updates, automation becomes much friendlier even for those without RPA developer expertise.
Microsoft's announcement about Copilot Studio and computer usage builds on the new AI capabilities released last month, including deep reasoning abilities for agents, model context protocol support, and the availability of agent flows within the system.
Advantages of Microsoft’s latest update to Copilot Studio
Computer usage significantly enhances the capabilities of AI agents. Adding computer-usage-enabled agents in Copilot Studio brings new functionality to the system and offers users additional benefits.
- Functionality without API connections: Agents can perform tasks within third-party systems without needing an API connection.
- Automatic adaptation to app and website changes: Computer usage automatically adapts to system updates and handles adjustments in real-time, ensuring uninterrupted experiences.
- Governance framework and security measures based on Copilot Studio: Computer usage aligns with organizational and industry standards, protecting sensitive corporate data within the Microsoft cloud boundary to ensure security.
- Microsoft-managed infrastructure: Organizations don’t need to manage their servers, as computer usage runs on Microsoft-hosted infrastructure.
- More business functionalities: Possible use cases for the new features include creating agents to automate data entry, process invoices, or conduct market research.
Testing the computer usage feature in Copilot Studio
This new feature will enter Copilot Studio via an early access web preview. Users interested in testing and evaluating the computer usage feature should fill out this form to inform Microsoft of their interest in participating.
