Embracing the Future of Work with Microsoft 365 Copilot

In light of the recent Microsoft® 365 Copilot Wave 2 updates and the insights gained at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, it’s clear that Microsoft 365 Copilot isn’t just a feature set — it’s a signpost for how the workplace is transforming. With Wave 2, Microsoft has introduced a powerful expansion of Copilot capabilities designed to help organizations do more than keep up. It’s a toolkit for driving strategic progress, enabling human-AI collaboration at scale and unlocking a new era of digital labor.

This evolution is especially relevant for IT decision-makers navigating complex multicloud environments. From security and data governance to end-user enablement, the path to value from generative AI demands a structured and strategic approach. Copilot Wave 2 offers the tools, architecture and extensibility to support that journey — and it’s available now.

From automation to digital labor

As the 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report makes clear, AI is no longer an optional pilot project. It is a core business resource. Copilot Wave 2 reflects that shift with the concept of digital labor — AI that can reason, plan, solve problems, make decisions and use tools autonomously.

This isn’t just about automating repetitive tasks. It’s about empowering your workforce to scale. AI agents can now detect patterns across large datasets, summarize critical information instantly and provide targeted insights to accelerate action. For organizations under pressure to move faster and smarter, digital labor is becoming a strategic asset.

Meet the new agents

Copilot Wave 2 brings a suite of new capabilities designed to enhance human-agent collaboration:

• Skills agent: Helps users find colleagues based on skill sets, improving internal knowledge discovery and connection.
• Agent store: A curated marketplace of Copilot agents, enabling teams to access or deploy agents built for specific workflows or roles.
• Copilot chat: Streamlines the experience of working with agents, allowing users to engage across tasks in a conversational way.

These capabilities introduce an even more agile way of working — one where individuals are empowered to act, iterate and collaborate faster.

Work charts redefine the organizational structure

AI is challenging traditional organizational models. Instead of fixed roles and rigid hierarchies, we’re seeing the rise of the work chart. These are a fluid, cross-functional structure where human-agent teams execute in parallel.

Copilot’s skills agent empowers work charts to help employees become orchestrators of digital labor. For example, work charts allow team leaders to easily create dynamic skill-based teams that are equipped to tackle any project. Also, it helps employees find and connect with people who have the skills they need.

Instead of managing people to complete work, they manage intelligent agents — monitoring output, validating results and continuously optimizing for impact. This model requires not just new tools but a new mindset. To guide this shift, leadership must prioritize change management, workforce upskilling and robust governance.

Strategic value across roles

The Copilot Wave 2 update unlocks value across the organization:

• Executives: Use Copilot to extract business intelligence, monitor communications and surface insights faster — driving more informed decision-making.
• Knowledge workers: Gain support for content creation, document summarization and data analysis — freeing them to focus on strategic and creative tasks.
• IT teams: Build and scale secure, enterprise-grade agents aligned to specific business functions — streamlining operations and extending digital capabilities without relying on code-heavy development.

Copilot strategy support offers

Rackspace Technology® is equipped to help bring Microsoft 365 Copilot to life in your environment. Our structured engagements accelerate adoption, improve integration and maximize impact via:

• Preflight checks: Addresses the foundational requirements for a successful Copilot deployment — including data security, governance, workflow integration and change management.
• Extensibility hub: Helps seamlessly connect Copilot to your existing systems and data sources with Copilot Studio, unlocking new value from your technology stack.
• Agent lab: Helps rapidly build custom Copilot Agents tailored to your business needs. Automates tasks, generates insights and scales productivity through secure, flexible AI.