Microsoft brings Copilot AI tools to OneDrive

Microsoft’s Copilot is now available in OneDrive, part of a wider revamp of the company’s cloud storage platform. 

Microsoft highlighted several ways to use the generative AI (genAI) assistant in OneDrive in a blog post Tuesday. Copilot can now summarize one or more files in OneDrive without needing to open them first; compare the content of selected files across different formats (including Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs); and respond to questions about the contents of files via the chat interface. 

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These features are available now to commercial OneDrive customers (access to Microsoft 365 Copilot requires an additional monthly fee). Coming next year is a meeting recap feature, which provides an overview of meeting discussions directly from OneDrive, as well as the ability to convert files such as Word documents into PowerPoint presentations. 

Microsoft will also bring its Copilot Agents to OneDrive, enabling users to create bespoke chatbots based on documents stored in the application. 

“Imagine you’re organizing a conference, and you need to repeatedly provide the same information to various stakeholders,” said Jason Moore, vice president of product for OneDrive. “With a Copilot Agent, you can automate this process by directing it to respond to common requests, like Show me the event agenda’ or ‘Summarize the latest budget figures.’”

These custom Copilot agents can then be shared with colleagues across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.

Microsoft also highlighted several other OneDrive improvements. These include a faster and more responsive web OneDrive web experience when browsing files, as well updated search functions with new filter controls and more detailed results. The search changes are slated to launch by the end of the year. 

Colored folders to personalize and organize files are now available, and beginning in mid-2025, an update to the OneDrive document libraries will improve “overall performance and reliability, making it easier and faster to navigate, switch to and create custom views, and filter large data sets,” said Moore. 

In addition to making it easier for users to find information across their organization, Microsoft also wants to simplify the process of keeping sensitive files secure in both OneDrive and SharePoint. 

One such feature is the “AI-driven site policy comparison report.” This scans an organization’s OneDrive or SharePoint sites, compares them against a site that has the correct user access policies applied, and suggests changes to address content oversharing.  

In addition, a new Restricted Content Discoverability policy can be applied to omit certain libraries from Copilot-generated search results. 

Both of these admin tools will be available in public preview later this year, according to Microsoft.