Introduction
Welcome back to another episode of TJ's Technology Tuesday. Today's topic is Cowork in Microsoft 365. What does that mean? Some of you may have already noticed that AI is evolving in several stages.
The Development Stages of AI in Business Use
The first stage of AI in business use was the chatbot: you simply ask it a question and get an answer, much like ChatGPT. The next stage is building your own specialised chatbots so you don't have to feed them new context every time. After that comes automation — running processes in the background, for example with Power Automate or services like n8n. And then there are Cowork services, like the one Claude offers, where you tell the system to handle certain things on its own, including on a recurring schedule.
What Claude Offers: Chat, Cowork and Code
Let me quickly show you what this looks like in Claude. In the paid version of Claude you can switch between Chat, Cowork and Claude Code. Code is the deep-terminal option for developers. Cowork is the middle ground — the mode where you can have tasks carried out for you. Importantly, when you use Cowork, it works directly on directories on your local machine. That naturally raises the question: how secure is all of this? And if you push it to the extreme with something like OpenClaw — you may remember, it was called CloudBot, then MoldBot, and is now called OpenClaw — that fully autonomous agent, I have already pointed out that letting it run completely unchecked on your systems is highly dangerous.
That is why I do not use MoldBot productively. I do have it for test instances and I test it regularly, but not for production use. What I use productively is selective Claude Cowork — for example, telling it: I have a presentation in English, translate it into German for me. Or: I have certain things I want to reorganise. Or: I have certain news I want to pull in on a regular basis. Things I want to retrieve regularly.
And that is the starting point for saying: Claude with its Cowork feature delivers exactly that.
Perplexity's Computer Feature
There is another approach from a company you have heard me mention before: Perplexity, with their Computer feature. The idea is that the AI works autonomously. At the time of recording, you still needed a 200 € account for it. However, it should become available to regular Pro users like me shortly, with credits.
Comet — Browser and AI Agent in One
Perplexity has also had the Comet browser for a while now. Comet is a special browser where you can automate certain tasks. Let me pull it up on screen so you can see it. Here I have it — there is always an assistant mode, and I could say, for example: find me specific people, send out certain connection requests. You can already see suggestions for what you can do on LinkedIn with this browser. So it is essentially an agentic browser. Very impressive.
Microsoft Wave 3
Now here is Microsoft's idea: they have decided to integrate the Claude Code technology from Anthropic, which is already designed with strong ethical guardrails — you may recall the discussion about the Pentagon that I mentioned in one of the recent episodes. They are now integrating it into their system in such a way that it provides agentic capabilities. If you look at these agentic functions, they are calling it Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
And it states quite clearly: expanded model diversity, including Claude — already integrated — and the announcement that from 1 May 2026 there will be a so-called E7: Frontier Suite option. That will cost 99 €. You can also book individual agentic features separately for around 15 €. The 99 € would be the full suite, with the agentic capabilities included.
Agentic — here as well, this is also shown on the US page. I will include the links with this post, where it is presented in English. Very nicely put: "Intelligence that shows up in real work." The idea being that I can have the system work autonomously on my behalf.
There is also another page — which was kindly sent to me by Colin Croome two weeks ago. Warm greetings to you, Colin. He is one of those digital pioneers who is always right at the cutting edge, particularly on topics like the metaverse, where I always say productivity is beyond the hype. So if you are looking for an expert on the metaverse, Colin Croome is highly recommended.
Copilot Cowork
And then there is Cowork. The pitch is very straightforward: a new way of getting work done. Built to help, to take action, not just chat. And that is exactly the idea — this thing should actually do things. So it can, for example, tidy up your calendar, reschedule appointments, reorganise your planning. And it always does so with access to your own context. So the idea is: I can have it work with my own data. Including, for example, creating documents and similar tasks.
I find this genuinely impressive. On the page there are also videos you can watch. I will start one. You can see how it is used — you go into this area and say: what should you do? And then it reports back on what background processes it is running, and you can ask follow-up questions. It also asks intelligent clarifying questions. So I find it quite smart — it even goes into the Researcher extension, where I can already feed in my own information. And it takes this a step further, working in that area even more deeply. Right. Let me step out of that again.
So on the page you can see very clearly these different areas where I say: what can you actually do with this? And similar to what you know from Cowork, I can also specify which folders it should work in. And the great thing about this Microsoft solution is that it always has access to my clients' context.
Data Security and Privacy with Microsoft 365
Cowork means, of course, I can also connect my Microsoft 365 data. I could connect Outlook, I could connect SharePoint. But then I am always on Anthropic's servers. Microsoft's idea is to say: we integrate these capabilities, but they run on our own servers.
Now we will have to wait and see. There will certainly be colleagues who will check more closely by the time May arrives, to what extent things in Germany will then also run on German or European servers. You may have seen it: by 2028, Microsoft will have German AI data centres west of Cologne. The groundbreaking ceremony took place just two days ago.
So the idea is that Microsoft will build additional AI data centres in Germany. Today, the data you have in Microsoft 365 is stored in Germany. AI processing currently runs in Ireland — at least still within the EU — but the data itself remains in Germany.
And the question always comes up: oh, am I not allowed to use AI with Microsoft? To which I say: then you probably should not be writing your emails through Outlook either. And I mean that quite seriously. That means you should also logically look at alternatives — Nextcloud, for example. I recently came across a video from Heise, who publish the excellent c't magazine. And Nextcloud has become very, very capable — on your own servers, on servers hosted in Germany. So there are certainly alternatives. However, in my view, the performance and comfort of Microsoft 365 is still unmatched.
And I find the approach very compelling: integrating other solutions and other models via two routes. On one hand, the latest OpenAI models (such as o5.3, o5.4) are already built into Copilot — and here it is worth noting that data is not forwarded to the US; these models run on Microsoft's own data centres. Then there is the option to plug in models like Anthropic as well. That does involve forwarding data to the US, you get a notification about it, and it can also be disabled by administrators.
And the point is, as we now have it, these agent capabilities are being integrated as well. And that is really exciting, because it gives me the ability to bring the functionality and productivity of Claude Code and Claude Cowork into the Microsoft world.
Because from my own practical experience, I have to say honestly: I work very, very extensively with Claude Code and Claude Cowork, simply because it is extremely productive and fast. So my hope is also that Microsoft will adopt a bit of the Anthropic technology in the areas where they currently use Agent Mode in Excel and PowerPoint.
Because I can now edit Excel files with Agent Mode, and I can edit PowerPoint files. But in those areas, the Anthropic plugins are significantly more advanced.
Just as Apple, for example, has come to see in its collaboration with Google: okay, Google might be slightly better at AI. So Apple will deploy dedicated data centres that will physically be located at Google — somewhat ironically — but dedicated to Apple. And Microsoft is integrating these capabilities into their own services in a similar fashion.
Conclusion
If you genuinely need support with Microsoft 365 to be more productive: you know that my mission is to bring Microsoft 365 and AI from everyone's lips into everyone's hands. If you need support — as a sparring partner, a keynote speaker, a trainer, or a consultant — I would be very happy to hear from you.
Yours, Thorsten Jekel.
Key Takeaways
- AI in business use is evolving in several stages: from simple chatbots through specialised bots and automations all the way to autonomous agents.
- Claude offers three modes: Chat, Cowork and Claude Code — with Cowork being the productive middle-ground solution for agent-driven tasks on your own machine.
- Perplexity is betting on autonomously operating AI agents with its Computer feature and the Comet browser, which can automate tasks like LinkedIn activities.
- Microsoft is integrating Anthropic technology (Claude Code) into Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot, offering agentic features from 1 May 2026 as the E7: Frontier Suite for 99 €.
- Microsoft Copilot Cowork enables tasks such as tidying up the calendar, creating documents and rescheduling — all within the context of your own Microsoft 365 data.
- Data privacy with Microsoft 365: user data is stored in Germany; AI processing currently takes place in Ireland (EU); AI data centres west of Cologne are planned for completion by 2028.
- OpenAI models (up to o5.4) already run on Microsoft's own data centres without forwarding data to the US; Anthropic models, by contrast, are forwarded to the US.
- Fully autonomous agents like OpenClaw are considered too risky for productive use; selective use of Cowork is the recommended alternative.
- Nextcloud on your own or German-hosted servers is mentioned as a privacy-friendly alternative to Microsoft 365, though rated as less convenient.
- The goal is to make the productivity features of Claude Code and Claude Cowork directly available within the Microsoft 365 world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Microsoft Copilot Cowork and what can it do?
Microsoft Copilot Cowork is a new agentic feature in Microsoft 365 that goes beyond simple chatting. It enables tasks such as tidying up the calendar, rescheduling appointments and creating documents to be carried out autonomously, always within the context of your own Microsoft 365 data.
What is the difference between Claude Chat, Claude Cowork and Claude Code?
Claude Chat is the classic question-and-answer mode. Claude Code is the deep-terminal option for developers. Claude Cowork is the productive middle ground, where Claude works autonomously on directories of your own machine and can independently handle tasks like translations or file editing.
What is Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Wave 3 is the next expansion stage of Microsoft 365 Copilot, integrating agentic features based on Anthropic technology (Claude Code). From 1 May 2026 it will be available as the E7: Frontier Suite for 99 € per month; individual agentic features can also be booked separately for 15 €.
Which AI models are included in Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot currently includes the latest OpenAI models (such as o5.3 and o5.4), which run on Microsoft's own data centres and are not forwarded to the US. In addition, Anthropic models (Claude) can be connected, though this does involve data being forwarded to the US.
Where is my data stored and processed with Microsoft 365?
User data in Microsoft 365 is stored in Germany. AI processing currently takes place in Ireland, within the EU. By 2028, Microsoft plans to open dedicated AI data centres in Germany west of Cologne, with the groundbreaking ceremony already completed.
What is the Comet browser from Perplexity?
The Comet browser is a special browser from Perplexity that includes an integrated AI assistant mode. It allows tasks such as searching for contacts or performing LinkedIn actions to be carried out automatically and agentically.
What is the Computer feature from Perplexity?
The Computer feature from Perplexity is an autonomous AI agent that can handle tasks independently. At the time of recording it was only available for accounts costing 200 € or more, but was expected to become available to regular Pro users with credits in the near future.
Why are fully autonomous AI agents like OpenClaw not recommended for productive use?
Fully autonomous agents like OpenClaw are classified as highly dangerous when allowed to run without restriction on your own systems. The recommended approach is the selective use of AI agents like Claude Cowork for clearly defined, controlled tasks.
Are there privacy-friendly alternatives to Microsoft 365 for AI use?
Nextcloud is mentioned as a privacy-friendly alternative, which can be operated on your own servers or servers hosted in Germany. However, the comfort and performance of Microsoft 365 is still considered unmatched.
How does the data privacy situation differ between OpenAI models and Anthropic models in Microsoft 365?
OpenAI models in Microsoft 365 Copilot run on Microsoft's own data centres and are not forwarded to the US. When Anthropic models (Claude) are used, however, data is forwarded to the US; users are explicitly notified of this, and administrators can disable this option.
Tools & Resources Mentioned
- Claude Cowork & Claude Code (Anthropic) – AI agent features for productive work on your own machine
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 3 – Agentic features with Claude integration, available from May 2026 as the E7: Frontier Suite
- Perplexity Computer – Autonomous AI agent from Perplexity for independent task execution
- Comet Browser (Perplexity) – Agentic browser with integrated AI assistant for automated web tasks
- Nextcloud – Privacy-friendly alternative to Microsoft 365 on your own or German-hosted servers
