In this episode of The Copilot Connection, Kevin McDonnell and Garry Trinder dive deep into the biggest developer-focused announcements coming out of Microsoft Build—and what they actually mean in practice.

We unpack a fast-moving couple of weeks in AI, from the shift in how Microsoft shares Build news (goodbye Book of News, hello live blog and CLI tooling), to the hands-on, lab-heavy focus that signals a return to Build’s developer roots. Expect plenty of perspective on what stood out, what worked, and what felt different this year.

The conversation then turns to one of the headline releases: Copilot Cowork now generally available. Kevin and Garry explore how Cowork changes the way we interact with Copilot - moving from simple chat to task-driven, cloud-executed workflows with deeper Microsoft 365 integration. They share real-world usage patterns, from daily task triage to cross-device workflows, and discuss the impact of its new consumption-based pricing model (and why “value over tokens” is the mindset shift we all need).

From there, they step into the more experimental space with Microsoft Scout—a local, autonomous agent inspired by OpenClaw that introduces concepts like heartbeats, browser automation, and powerful extensibility. The duo compare Scout vs Cowork, weighing up local vs cloud agents, flexibility vs control, and the growing importance of governance as agents gain more autonomy.

Useful Links

• https://build.microsoft.com/
• Build Live Blog
• Build Blog - be yourself at work
• Build Next Steps GitHub Repo
• Cowork GA
• The Cowork Cookbook (community link)
• Microsoft Scout
• Work IQ GA
• Work IQ Licensing
• Windows Platform Security
• Project Solara
• Surface Laptop Ultra
• Surface RTX Spark Dev Box

Kevin McDonnell and Zoe Wilson are back, kicking off this episode with a lively wander through Copilot Cowork in preview — from using it on mobile (sometimes unintentionally…) to early thoughts on skills, plugins, stability, and why data residency still matters if you’re experimenting in the real world. Along the way, there are opinions, tangents, and a few “this is cool, but…” moments that will feel very familiar to anyone testing Copilot right now.

The conversation then jumps ahead to Microsoft Build, where agents, observability, and the growing obsession with value and ROI take centre stage. Kevin and Zoe unpack why business goals matter more than shiny dashboards, how Agent 365 fits into the picture, and what all this means for teams trying to move from curiosity to confidence with AI — all wrapped up with event shout‑outs, future episode teases, and the usual friendly chaos

This week, Zoe and Kevin dig into Copilot Cowork and Agent 365. Fresh from a week at the Microsoft campus in Seattle, Kevin shares his key takeaways from MVP Summit — including a surprising amount of cross-product collaboration and a hands-on experiment building a conference bingo app entirely using GitHub Copilot's coding agent. Zoe and Kevin then dive into two of the biggest recent announcements: Copilot Cowork, now available in Frontier tenants, which takes Copilot from answering questions to actually taking action on your behalf, from organising your inbox to scheduling your week and creating reusable skills; and Agent 365, Microsoft's control plane for agents, launching on 1 May, which brings observability, governance, and threat protection for all your agents in one place. They also cover the practical steps to enable Cowork in your tenant, the current data residency considerations for European organisations, and the open licensing questions still to be resolved before general availability.

Useful links:

• Lab that Kevin mentioned https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-agent-lab-soc-ops
• kevmcdonk/mvp-summit-bingo: Web app for MVPs to track all those common phrases we hear over the week. Who will get bingo first
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-work-done
• Get started with Copilot Cowork (Frontier) | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Agent 365 documentation | Microsoft Learn

Microsoft helped us make an episode this week but dropping some big Copilot news! In this episode, Zoe and Kevin dig into some of the news related around Copilot Wave 3, talk about what the recent org changes at Microsoft will mean and also highlight some of the upcoming events going on.

Useful links:

• Zoe and Kevin keynote the Copilot Community Conference - Copilot Community Conference 2026
• Experts Live UK
• Scottish Summit
• Call for speakers for Scottish Summit still open
• Rajesh Jha retiring
• Copilot Leadership Team
• Frontier Suite
• Copilot Wave 3
• SharePoint at 25
• Copilot Cowork

In this episode of Copilot Connection, Zoe and Kevin are joined by Diana Wolfe, Head of Research & Strategy at Kyndryl, to explore one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today: the widening gap between AI ambition and AI implementation. Together, they unpack why so many companies struggle to realise value from AI investments, what human‑centred change looks like in an era of agentic AI, and how trust, psychological safety, and redesigned roles shape successful adoption.

The conversation covers everything from workflow automation myths and cognitive overload to organisational silos, identity shifts, and the realities of embedding AI into everyday work. Expect thoughtful insights, a few laughs (including designer chickens and the underpants gnomes), and practical guidance on how individuals, leaders, and change practitioners can navigate the next phase of AI‑driven transformation.

Tune in to learn why the future of AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about people, systems, and redefining what meaningful work looks like.

Takeaways

• AI implementation requires a holistic approach
• The integration of AI technology presents multifaceted challenges AI adoption is evolving rapidly
• Human systems integration is crucial for responsible AI implementation

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Welcome to a brand new way of hearing about the latest Copilot extensibility news! In this episode of the Copilot Connection, Kevin swaps out Zoe for Garry Trinder in the first of a spin-off of episodes where we dig deeper into the extensibility side of Copilot.

In this first episode, we go into an overview of the options that you have for extending Copilot. We talk cover why you would need to extend Copilot, the different ways you can do that (whether by end user, maker or specialist) and touch a little on how you can actually get started with doing it.

Is there a specific topic that you'd like to see us cover? Let us know!

Takeaways

• Extensibility in Copilot allows developers to create tailored solutions.
• Understanding AI maturity is crucial for effective implementation.
• Personalization of AI tools enhances user experience and productivity.
• Scoping and context are essential for effective use of Copilot.
• Integrating external knowledge sources can enhance AI capabilities.
• Balancing deterministic and non-deterministic approaches is key in AI applications.
• Declarative agents simplify the process of building AI solutions.
• Responsible AI practices are necessary when developing custom solutions.
• Continuous learning and adaptation are vital in the evolving AI landscape.

Related links

• Copilot extensibility learning paths
• Copilot camp - no actual camping required
• Community samples
• Pro dev community samples

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Fourth of twelve mini episodes as we bring our interviews from MVP Summit.

Interviewee today - Simon Doy

Simon likes the development side of things and breaking down application barriers with Copilot. He is excited about the opportunities to bring business data and take actions with Copilot.

Listen to find out how he used Copilot to make his daughter's birthday even more special.

Simon Doy | LinkedIn
Simon Doy | MVP #Copilot (@simondoy) / X (twitter.com)

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It's our birthday today! We've managed to pull together some fantastic guests including Loryan Strant, Caroline Kallin and Tom Morgan to help us celebrate by sharing their thoughts on Copilot Wave 2 so hear what we thought and then a few interviews that we have been able to do.

Great summary post from Sara Fennah on all the useful links for Copilot Wave 2 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sarafennah_did-the-deluge-of-announcements-in-the-wave-activity-7241481645957029888-gyfa?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop