Boston Consulting Group research cited by WIRED found 22% of surveyed managers say their organizations have already added AI agents to corporate org charts, treating them as coworkers rather than mere tools. The trend follows platforms like Microsoft's Copilot and Google's Gemini for Workspace, and Microsoft's June launch of an agent called Scout, designed to autonomously handle tasks such as rescheduling meetings and drafting emails.
Microsoft is piloting an Excel update that lets a single cell hold lists and arrays instead of just one value, breaking from the spreadsheet's traditional one-cell, one-value design. The feature is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Excel Beta Channel on Windows and Mac, letting users create lists via Insert > List or Ctrl+J, and reference or filter individual items within them using formulas.
Microsoft has cut close to half the staff at World's Edge, the studio behind the Age of Empires franchise, as part of a reorganization placing it under Activision. Former employees say the studio's next project was canceled during the transition. The cuts are part of 268 job losses across Xbox, contributing to Microsoft's planned 3,200 layoffs this financial year.
Apple has unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, drawing comparisons online to Microsoft's Surface Duo foldable line. Critics have accused Apple of copying the name, but Apple previously used 'Duo' for its PowerBook Duo laptop in 1992, predating Microsoft's product by decades.
Microsoft is introducing a feature allowing single cells in Excel to hold lists and arrays of data, rather than just individual values. The change marks a structural update to the spreadsheet program, which has not previously supported this kind of nested data within one cell.
U.S. stocks posted a volatile week as Treasury yields hit multidecade highs, with the 10-year topping 5.2% and the 30-year touching 5.5%. Despite rising rate-hike expectations after strong manufacturing data and comments from Fed Governor Michael Barr, the Nasdaq gained 2%, the S&P 500 rose 1%, and the Dow added 0.3%, lifted by strength in Meta and Microsoft shares.
Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrum told Windows Central that new laptops meeting the Copilot+ hardware requirements are no longer being labeled with the Copilot+ badge, even though the underlying NPU and performance specs remain. Devices like the upcoming Nvidia RTX Spark N1X and Microsoft's own Project Zenith are shipping without the branding, and Microsoft says it's scaling back Copilot's visible presence in Windows 11 while promising better performance and reliability, including optimization for 8GB RAM systems.
Microsoft has revealed a major redesign of its business-facing Copilot tools, which CEO Satya Nadella describes as a 'new OS for work.' The suite includes Home, which can draft and edit Office files; Code, which builds apps from natural-language prompts using GitHub Copilot's engine; and Autopilot, a rebrand of Scout that autonomously handles tasks like scheduling and follow-ups across Teams, Outlook and other apps. Home and Code enter Microsoft's Frontier testing program in coming weeks, with Autopilot reaching private preview by month's end.
Reddit users have reported redeeming Microsoft Rewards and Xbox Mastercard points to pre-order Grand Theft Auto 6 at no extra cost. One user, Financial_Specific24, used points earned from Xbox Mastercard purchases, while another, Automatic_Ad1665, accumulated Microsoft Rewards through routine daily tasks. GTA 6's Standard Edition costs $80 and the Ultimate Edition $100.
Microsoft has paused rollout of KB5002907, an update meant for outdated Microsoft 365 Apps installations, after users reported it deactivated or removed perpetual Office 2016 and Office 2019 installs. Belgian MSP owner Christian Van Hautte said five unrelated clients contacted him within about ten minutes on September 24, with dozens of PCs showing an 'Unlicensed Product' error. He found that re-entering original product keys restored activation, and said the update installed automatically despite being labeled optional.
Windows Central reports that Microsoft and its hardware partners have quietly stopped using the 'Copilot+ PC' branding introduced in 2024. None of the Surface PCs launched in 2026 carry the moniker in their names, unlike earlier models, and Nvidia's upcoming RTX Spark platform—despite meeting the spec requirements—also avoids the label. The underlying technical requirements for Copilot+ PC hardware still exist, but the marketing name is increasingly absent from spec sheets and product listings.
Microsoft-owned King has agreed to a collective bargaining agreement covering its Swedish staff, signed with Unionen and Engineers of Sweden just a day before a planned strike. The deal, effective April 1, 2027, follows negotiations that began in May 2025 after King removed a private doctor benefit in 2024, prompting employees to unionize.
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