Microsoft Copilot now generates Word and PowerPoint presentations using Python.

Microsoft Copilot has taken a significant leap forward By integrating a Python code interpreter into its ecosystem, it connects natively with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF to automate analysis, transform files, and create visualizations without leaving the tools you already use. This evolution not only expands what you can ask of AI, but also brings previously complex tasks closer to any skill set, from developers to analysts and low-code creators.

The key is that Code generation and execution are intertwined With Copilot Studio, AI Builder, and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, you can create agents, write reusable prompts, and run Python to solve everything from everyday problems to advanced business workflows. Furthermore, Microsoft has strengthened the governance and privacy framework with enterprise data protection, management options, and granular access control, complying with standards such as HIPAA and FERPA in appropriate implementations. Let's dive in and learn all about it. Microsoft Copilot now generates Word and PowerPoint presentations using Python.

What is the Copilot code interpreter and who is it for?

The code interpreter in Copilot Studio and AI Builder allows agents Write and run Python on demand It's designed for data analysis, document processing, and chart creation. It's intended for developers, business analysts, and those with minimal coding experience who want to accelerate results without building solutions from scratch.

With this capability, creators can combine language models for generative responses With executable code, it combines the best of both worlds: natural context and technical power. The experience integrates with Dataverse, Power Apps, and the rest of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem to deploy consistent solutions.

Python features and featured use cases

Among the interpreter's strengths are its file and data handling capabilities, with support for Inputs and outputs in Excel within the instructions themselves, and the ability to return files as a result. This opens the door to automations that previously required macros or external tools.

• Advanced Excel AICreate, copy, and update sheets in a workbook; read and apply styles; replicate formats; move and update formulas between cells; and more.
• Processing of Word and PowerPoint: analysis and modification of documents and presentations with reproducible steps.
• PDF: generate and copy documents, as well as accurately read tables and paragraphs.
• Operate with dataverse: manipulate tabular data and enrich it with calculations or rules.
• Calculation mathematician and statistician high-level for risk scenarios, forecasting or scoring.
• Analysis and visualization of data, generating graphs and tables directly from the prompt.

For developers who want to go further, Microsoft recommends reviewing the documentation for Code Interpreter for developers and the interpreter's PCF component example, which illustrates how to use the message Predict from Dataverse to issue prompts and process responses.

Requirements, activation and configuration in Power Platform

Before using the code interpreter in any scenario, it is essential activate it in the environment from the Power Platform admin center and consult the Guide to installing Copilot in Office 365Once enabled, you will be able to invoke it from your prompts, tools, and agents.

1. Enter the Power Platform admin center, go to Copilot and choose Configuration.
2. In the section Copilot Studio, Select Generating and running code in Copilot Studio to open the panel with environments.
3. Choose the environment and press Add to open the activation panel.
4. Brand Activate to enable code generation and execution.
5. Guarda the changes needed to make the feature available.

With the environment ready, you can create empty prompt entries and enable the code interpreter at the level of each indication as needed.

Create directions in AI Hub and Copilot Studio

You can start in two ways: from AI Hub in Power Apps or as a tool within an agent in Copilot Studio. In both cases, you will activate the code interpreter in the prompt settings.

Option 1: AI Hub in Power Apps

1. Access Power Apps and select Artificial Intelligence Center in the left panel.
2. Go to Indications and press Create your own application.
3. Assign a name to the prompt and open … > Settings in the Instructions section.
4. Activate code interpreter and return to the editor to write and adjust your prompt.

You will get a blank prompt with Python enabled, ready for define instructions, examples and outputs such as Excel, PDF, or JSON.

Option 2: tool within an agent

1. Open the agent in Copilot Studio wherever you want to use Python.
2. In the Tools, choose Add a tool > New tool > Indication.
3. In the information bar, enter … > Settings and enables code interpreter.
4. Close the configuration and write the instruction for the agent to use when appropriate.

From there, you can iterate with few example shots, set output formats and call Python at the appropriate times.

Agent chat usage: activation and practical example

The code interpreter can also be activated at the agent level and leveraged from the agent's own test chatThis feature is in public preview and may change over time.

How to activate it for the agent chat

1. From your agent, enter Configuration tab and activate The code interpreter in the generative AI section.
2. Guarda and return to the agent to begin testing it.

A typical example is the debugging of a purchasing Excel spreadsheet: upload a file With thousands of transactions, mark amounts above a certain threshold that lack a PO, highlight rows in red, add comments like "PO Missing," and generate a summary with totals by vendor and reasons for marking. In seconds, the agent returns the modified Excel file and a change report in text.

Current limitations

• Does not admit analyze multiple files at once.
• It does not return multiple file outputs in a single request.
• It does not maintain a multi-turn conversation about the same uploaded file.

Best practices when writing instructions with code

For better results, it's advisable to combine tools and be explicit. For example, use other capabilities of Copilot for Bootstrap The indication provides precise examples and clearly defines the output format.

• It includes few-shot with desired inputs and outputs.
• Declare return formats: "Returns JSON", “Excel” or “PDF”.
• Attach files as a sample when they help guide the outcome.

Copilot Chat with Python: Real-world scenarios

In Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, the Python interpreter is also available for advanced operations and web searches in real time, so you can perform financial calculations, analyze public data, or build visualizations on the fly.

Scenario 1: Benefits of a stock market investment

1. Open Copilot Chat and ask your question in natural language with dates and number of shares.
2. Copilot recovers the price history and calculates profitability, ROI and other indicators.
3. You receive the result with Excel table and sheet automatically generated.

This way of working speeds up decision-making, because There's no need to change a tool to document the analysis and share it.

Scenario 2: Sports performance trends

1. Request average points or comparisons of players and seasons in a single instruction.
2. Copilot consults public sports sources in real time and applies Python for the calculation.
3. Get a line graph and clean statistics to continue iterating.

You can also adjust the season interval or compare two athletes to see how its performance evolves.

Scenario 3: Meteorological analysis

1. Ask for a specific date and city, and request historical comparison of 10 years.
2. Copilot performs the web search, compiles the data and generates the visualization.
3. Use the graph to estimate patterns current or future depending on your context.

Ideal for event planners or teams that need climate studies fast without friction.

A unified side panel across Microsoft 365 apps

The arrival of Copilot Chat in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote allows you to work from a Side panel It understands the open document and adapts the responses to the content. There's no need to copy or upload anything: Copilot is already where you work.

• Commandos / to search for recent files without attaching them.
• Automatic suggestions of relevant documents.
• Load of multiple images in the chat.
• Enlarged text area for long prompts and shortcuts to imagingpages and agents.

Microsoft highlights a much-improved experience, with longer and more structured answers, better visuals and more quotes, bolstered by model advancements (including the reference to “GPT-5” in shared communication).

What unlocks the Microsoft 365 Copilot license

With the premium license, Copilot can reason with your work data (emails, documents, meetings, chats) respecting permissions and context, and gives you access to project notebooks and creative tools.

• Notebooks per project for persistent work.
• Create, AI-powered design studio for images, videos, and banners.
• Integration with advanced agents such as Researcher o Analyst.
• Priority access to new features and greater stability.

All of this is managed from the Copilot Control System (CCS), with a focus on security, compliance, and enterprise-level management.

Experience and adoption metrics

According to shared internal data, Copilot Chat responses are 30% longer and better structuredAnd the "thumbs up" have increased by 11%, suggesting that users perceive a clear improvement in quality and usefulness.

Key questions about administration, privacy, and access

As of January 15, 2025, Entra account users who used Microsoft Copilot (with data protection) have been switched to Microsoft 365 Copilot ChatThis chat includes what already existed (pages, file uploads, internet connection, EDP) and adds the ability to discover, create and use agents from the same interface.

Without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, the chat does not access Microsoft Graph data for the user or organization, although it can upload files directly. If the organization enables the use of Copilot Studio, employees can interact with agents that are based on SharePoint content, tenant files, or external data indexed by Graph.

The agents who access SharePoint or Graph and those using metered consumption are disabled by default; they require a Copilot Studio subscription and its administration is governed by the Power Platform. Declarative agents based on instructions and public sites have no additional cost and they do not access tenant data.

Regarding data protection, Copilot Chat offers Enterprise Data Protection (EDP) to users with an Entra account. Requests and responses are logged and available for auditing, eDiscovery, and advanced Purview features, depending on the plan. Requests and responses They are not used to train base models in environments with EDP, and the information is not shared with OpenAI to train models.

For privacy and security in web queries, there are specific controls and guidelines for manage searches performed by Copilot. Copilot Chat respects the settings of Bing SafeSearch, and is included in the DPA and Product Terms as a service covered by Microsoft's commitments.

Copilot Chat offers compliance EU Data BoundaryBAA and HIPAA (for requests and responses in appropriate implementations) and FERPA in education. In Edge for Enterprise, the policies of DLP These measures are applied natively to protect sensitive content when using chat. Additionally, there is a client Copyright Commitment to cover IP claims related to generated content.

Regarding availability, Copilot Chat works in Microsoft Edge and other major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari). The sidebar is only available in Edge. There are regions where it is not yet active and the API is not publicly available; to extend chat with agents, it is recommended Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot StudioStudents under 13 years of age are not eligible, and availability at GCC High will come at a later date.

Copilot Chat features that are constantly growing

The service frequently adds new features. Today it includes Copilot Pages to transform the ephemeral nature of chat into persistent and collaborative canvases, file uploads (Word, Excel, PDF), image generation, access to previous chats, agents, contextual suggestions in Edge, page summaries, and the code interpreter for complex analysis with Python.

• There are also image upload, dictation and reading aloud.
• Upcoming features include contextual rewriting in Edge and real-time voice.

The uploaded files are stored in OneDrive for Business Users can upload content and delete it at any time. According to EDP's promises, uploaded content is not used for model training.

Business Chat, Copilot Pages and agents: the new working model

Business Chat (BizChat) centralizes web, work, and other data. business line to transform Copilot into a cross-functional assistant that finds, summarizes, and connects dots. Copilot Pages, meanwhile, is the first native canvas for the AI ​​era that transforms ephemeral content transform the chat into something editable and shareable in real time by the entire team.

In addition, Microsoft has announced the general availability of the Copilot agents To automate business processes: from simple responses to repetitive tasks and more advanced autonomous functions. Everything runs under the Copilot umbrella, with integrated governance, security, and compliance.

To simplify its creation, the agent creator Powered by Copilot Studio: In just a few steps you can set up an agent in BizChat or SharePoint, leveraging the knowledge stored in your corporate sites and files.

Copilot in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, Outlook and OneDrive

Copilot is already in Excel. generally available with improvements for working even with non-tabulated data, compatibility with XLOOKUP, SUMIF, conditional formatting, and iterative visualizations such as charts and pivot tables. It can also operate with textnot just numbers.

Excel with Python further enhances analysis: forecasts, risk analysisMachine learning and complex visualizations triggered by natural language. Copilot in Excel with Python is available at Public preview.

In PowerPoint, the new Narrative Builder Create a solid first draft from a prompt, with an editable and refinable outline. With Brand Manager, Copilot respects your corporate templates and soon you will be able to take approved images from SharePoint.

In Teams, Copilot understands both the transcription such as the meeting chat to provide a complete overview: for example, identifying unanswered questions. In Outlook, Prioritize my inbox helps to organize mail Depending on the role and context, you'll generate concise summaries and explain the reason for the priority. You'll be able to teach Copilot relevant topics, keywords, or people.

In Word, the integration of web and work data (including PDFs and encrypted documents), as well as emails and meetings. The startup experience and collaboration have been improved. in real time by sections. In OneDrive, Copilot saves you time by locating what you need, summarizing and comparing up to five files without opening them.

Copilot Chat in everyday life: quick activation and unified experience

You can open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or OneNote and activate Copilot Chat in the side panel. If your organization pins it from the Admin Center, everyone will have easy access in the Microsoft 365 app, Teams, and Outlook.

For you, there are controls to ensure access, define network requirementsmanage the anchoring and, if necessary, remove access to Copilot Chat, plus guides on How Copilot can help system administrators.

The combination of a Python code interpreter, reusable prompts, managed agents, and a chat experience that understands file context is a game-changer: less friction, more precision, and actionable results in minutes, whether cleaning up a shopping Excel spreadsheet, building a narrative in PowerPoint, enriching a Word document with data, or researching an idea with verifiable sources right from the dashboard.

Related article:

How to generate Word documents and PowerPoint presentations with Python and Copilot in Microsoft 365

Cristian Garcia

Passionate about technology since he was little. I love being up to date in the sector and, above all, communicating it. That is why I have been dedicated to communication on technology and video game websites for many years. You can find me writing about Android, Windows, MacOS, iOS, Nintendo or any other related topic that comes to mind.