Microsoft Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Microsoft has launched AI agents for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The agents are available for business and individual subscribers. Now accessible on the web, the agents will expand to the desktop. Microsoft 365 users looking for assistance in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can now call on AI agents to help them with their work. On Monday, Microsoft announced that the new agentic AI skills are now available for both business and personal subscribers of Microsoft 365. Also: Copilot Chat arrives free for Microsoft 365 users - check if you have it The new capabilities offer a work-related twist on the concept of AI vibe coding. With this type of vibe, people with little or no programming skills can use AI to build and develop apps. In Microsoft's scenario, you can do the same with Microsoft 365. As one example, someone without any expertise in data analysis could ask AI for help creating advanced formulas or charts in their Excel spreadsheets. For the business crowd, you would need a Microsoft 365 Copilot business subscription, which typically costs $30 per user per month. But for individual use, a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan will do the trick. Here's how the different agents go about their work. Agent Mode in Excel Microsoft Excel can be a powerful tool. But unless you're skilled in data analysis, many of its features and tools can be confusing or intimidating. Trained in Excel and OpenAI's latest models, the Excel agent offers advanced analytical and modeling techniques. You can use this agent mode to not only generate content but to examine data, fix problems, and verify the results. As one example cited by Microsoft, you could submit the following prompt to Copilot in Excel: "Run a full analysis on this sales data set. I want to understand some important insights to help me make decisions about my business. Make it visual." Also: Microsoft's new Windows AI Labs lets you try experimental features first - how to opt-in In response, the agent decides which formulas to incorporate, creates the necessary sheets, and generates the data visualizations. The AI also summarizes the key insights and displays the validation steps to further help you refine the data. Agent Mode in Copilot for Excel is now available via the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers. Agent Mode works in Excel on the web but is headed to the desktop soon. To take it for a spin, install the Excel Labs add-in and choose Agent Mode. Agent Mode in Word In general, Word is a more welcoming application than Excel. Most people can certainly devise a basic document. But even here, many users may be unaware of the advanced formatting features and other tools that can flesh out a document. In this case, you just tell Copilot what you need. The AI will carry out your command by writing the content and suggesting refinements. It can even ask you questions as it ensures that your document contains all the correct and necessary information. The end result can take advantage of Word styles, formatting, and other features to make sure the document not only reads well but looks good. Also: Microsoft Copilot now offers Claude models - how to try them As one example, you might tell Copilot in Word to "help me update this monthly report for September. Update the data table with the latest numbers from the /'Sept Data Pull' email. Summarize the key highlights, including insights compared to last month's /'August monthly report.doc.'" Here, the slash marks refer to an email and another document, as Copilot can work with files beyond your current one. As another example, you could ask Copilot to format your document a certain way. At the prompt, you would ask: "Can you clean up this document? Title case for section headers, branding updates per the '/Latest brand guidelines' email, and italicize all external partner mentions. Feel free to ask if you need help identifying partners or guidelines." Agent Mode in Copilot for Word is now rolling out through the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Copilot-licensed customers and for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers. Currently accessible only on the web, the agent will soon make its way to the desktop. To get started with this one, check out Microsoft's Agent mode in Word web page. Office Agent in Copilot Chat The Office Agent in Copilot Chat serves as a chat partner to assist you with Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint is a popular tool for creating presentations. But as Microsoft admits, it hasn't taken advantage of AI as much as the other apps in the suite. Using the chat agent, you can create professional and organized PowerPoint slides and well-researched Word documents. As one example focusing on PowerPoint, you could give Copilot the following prompt: "I need to create a set of slides to share with my employees to encourage them to actively fund their retirement accounts. We've agreed to match a percentage of their contributions, but I'd like to increase the uptake of people participating in this program. Use a combination of numbers, visuals, and narrative/analogies to help." Also: The 10 apps I can't live or work without - on Windows, Mac, and mobile In another example, you might ask the AI to create a deck summarizing the top five trends in the athleisure clothing market." In this case, Copilot would analyze your prompt, conduct deep research to find the data, and then generate a fully formatted presentation with a live preview of the slides. Office Agent is now available through the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers in the US. Accessible in Microsoft 365 Copilot on the web, the agent currently supports English. To learn more, browse to the page on Getting started with Office Agent.