Most founders who use Microsoft Copilot have tried it and found it useful for drafts and summaries inside Microsoft... but we've noticed many of those same founders also have Claude open in another tab.
Why? Because Claude was noticeably more capable on complex tasks. Sharper reasoning. Better at getting what you actually asked for. The catch is it has always lived outside your business, outside your data.
Microsoft just changed that permanently.
Sitting right inside the Copilot you already use is an AI agent, built by Anthropic's Claude team and integrated directly into Microsoft 365.
This AI agent, specifically, is called Microsoft Cowork.
And this blog will tell you exactly what it is, what it can do for you as a founder or leader, and how quickly you can get it.
Cowork is what we call an AI agent.
This is a type of AI that completes tasks all the way through for you. Where you can set it up to work through a task, leave for a meeting, view your deliverables ready to claim upon your return.
Here at labdesk, some of the tasks we enjoy putting it to work on include:
Essentially you are giving Cowork a goal via a prompt, and it makes a plan, draws on the information it has access to, and completes each step in turn.
It is smart too. Cowork will ask its own questions to clarify exactly what you want during your conversation. Doing so many tasks, at labdesk we like to think of it as an octopus AI.
Now this is something very exciting...
On June 16th 2026, Microsoft announced Copilot Cowork as generally available worldwide. And the early results are genuinely impressive.
During the Frontier preview, more than half of the Fortune 500 put Cowork to work. Microsoft has called it the fastest growing feature in the history of their Frontier programme, with among the highest user satisfaction of any Copilot experience they have ever shipped.
The real-world results from those early users tell the story of how people are currently using it to shave off weeks worth of work from their plate. So they can get on with what really matters.
One engineering team used Cowork to compare nearly 4,000 files across two product versions automatically. Work that would have taken weeks was completed
One sales lead pointed Cowork at a stalled pipeline and got back a ranked list of at-risk opportunities, with the exact follow-up that had gone cold on each. A week of manual review, collapsed into a single morning.
To put these upgraded findings into context, let's look at results from the original Microsoft Copilot:
A pilot across 90 NHS organisations (the largest AI trial of its kind globally in healthcare) found Microsoft 365 Copilot saved staff around 43 minutes of admin time per person, per day.
NHS England's own Chief Digital Officer put a number on what that means: roughly 5 weeks of time back, per person, per year.
For a founder running a team of 15 to 20 people, that is the equivalent of getting two or three extra members of staff's worth of time back every single year — without a single new hire.
Allegis Group, an organisation of 18,000 people, saved 150,000 hours and cut one internal process from 31 hours down to 13. Lloyds Banking Group rolled out Copilot to 30,000 staff and saw 93% daily usage within their organisation.
Remember, those results above came from Microsoft Copilot before this exciting Claude x Microsoft collab existed.
If Copilot (nearly 3 years old now) can achieve hundreds of thousands of hours saved for employees without automating tasks... we believe it will be fascinating to see what results look like in the near future for early adopters to Cowork in 2026.
"Before Cowork, we helped a client build a Copilot-powered tender agent inside their Microsoft 365. It took over the repetitive, time-consuming parts of their personal tender process- like drafting, cross-referencing, formatting- and handed their team back a significant chunk of their week.
...The quality of what Copilot already produced was a step above what they had been putting together manually...and the outcomes they achieved reflected that. That client went on to win a 7-figure tender, with Copilot's optimised outputs playing a real part in how they presented and positioned themselves.
What was incredibly impressive is that was Copilot without Cowork. So now Cowork is here, we are talking about an AI that doesn't just give a hand and helps you draft, but automatically plans, coordinates and carries the work through from start to finish while you're not at your desk..."
Yes.
Microsoft built Cowork with Anthropic, the maker of Claude. In Microsoft's own words:
"Anthropic integrated the technology behind Claude Cowork into Microsoft 365 Copilot."
So... the AI agent doing your work is the same Claude you'd use exclusively inside the Claude software. Which means one of the most capable models around now works securely inside your existing Microsoft environment...
Microsoft calls this its multi-model advantage. Cowork is not tied to a single AI. It picks the best model for the job, and Claude is a big part of why it is so capable.
For you, that means two things.
Very easy. Especially if you're already using Microsoft 365 for your team.
As of June 16th 2026, Cowork is available worldwide and lives directly inside your existing Microsoft 365 Copilot. There is no longer an exclusive "Frontier" programme necessary to join.
Here's how to get started:
Most of the heavy lifting here sits with whoever manages your Microsoft setup, and it is largely a one-time job. For most businesses, the harder part is not switching Cowork on. It is deciding where to point it first!
Here is something worth knowing before you roll Cowork out.
In most businesses we work with, employees are already using AI outside of what the business chose. Usually, this is a free chatbot in a browser tab, or an app on a personal phone (see our Shadow AI blog for more details). Microsoft's own research found that 8 in 10 people using AI at work bring their own tools to do it. Teams are not doing anything wrong- they are trying to work smarter.
Cowork changes that dynamic because it is the AI you can trust to assist in dealing with sensitive business information (keeping it all in-house), while you get the benefits of Anthropic's latest agentic AI Claude model (as of June 16th, 2026).
Think of it this way: Cowork is the everyday AI at the centre of your Microsoft business operations. Specialist tools like coding, design, and development still have their place around the edges. But for the bulk of daily work that runs a business, writing, research, planning, and coordination, Cowork is the one tool your whole team can default to, governed and secure, without anyone needing to reach outside your Microsoft hub.
Cowork is a highly capable tool. But like any AI, it is only ever as safe as the foundations you put under it. Access, data, security, and ways of working all decide whether Cowork is a trusted teammate across the business, or something people tiptoe around.
That foundation is what we help you build.
The easiest place to start is a free, tailored AI Readiness Conversation with a member of the labdesk crew. Together we look at how your team actually works today, where tools like Copilot and Cowork can save the most time, and what needs to be in place so they do it safely.
If it is useful and you want to go further, our Copilot Enablement and Readiness Workshop takes it end to end.
Over several online sessions together, we:
You leave with clear findings, a simple picture of your current risk, and a phased roadmap from today's foundations to being genuinely ready for AI. Written in plain English, not tech-speak, and yours to keep and act on however you like: run it in-house, hand it to your IT team, or have labdesk deliver it alongside you.
For most founders, the business case is already there. In a 100-person company, a 20-seat Copilot pilot can deliver around £110,000 of time value per year on roughly £6,000 of licences — provided the foundations are right. The workshop makes sure the work you are already doing on Microsoft 365 counts toward that AI readiness at the same time.
And for qualifying projects, there is up to £1,000 of Microsoft funding available if you choose to move ahead.
If you would like your AI foundations in place before you roll tools like Cowork out to everyone, you can book your free readiness conversation here:
→ Copilot Enablement Workshop by labdesk - Drive Value with Microsoft Copilot AI(opens in new window)(opens in new window) (opens in new window)