You get a meaningful addition to your work toolkit today. The company has made Anthropic models available inside microsoft 365 copilot and Copilot Studio for Frontier commercial customers. This starts with Claude Opus 4.1 in the Researcher agent.
You can pick Anthropic models as an alternative to OpenAI options. These models run on Amazon and Google clouds and follow Anthropic’s terms. An admin must enable them in the microsoft 365 admin center before use.
The move gives you model choice without changing your workflows. It keeps familiar interfaces and enterprise controls while introducing a capable rival for complex reasoning and analysis.
Microsoft remains closely tied to OpenAI and is testing its own MAI-1-preview. Analysts say the enterprise rollout is phased, so you can evaluate performance, cost, and fit at your pace.
Key Takeaways
- You can select new models inside your existing microsoft 365 experience.
- The addition starts with Claude Opus 4.1 in the Researcher agent.
- Anthropic models are hosted on Amazon and Google clouds and use Anthropic terms.
- Admins control availability via the microsoft 365 admin center.
- The change boosts optionality while keeping enterprise governance intact.
What’s new today: Anthropic models extend Microsoft 365 Copilot’s deep‑reasoning capabilities
You can now choose an additional model inside Researcher that widens deep reasoning options for multistep tasks.
Claude Opus 4.1 is available as a selectable option to power the Researcher agent alongside openai models. Researcher will analyze live web sources, trusted third‑party repositories, and your organization’s data — emails, meetings, chats, and files — to generate detailed reports and evidence‑backed analyses.
Users can switch between models after admins enable access in microsoft 365. Copilot continues to default to OpenAI while offering this new choice, so you can compare outputs on the same prompts and pick what works best.
This change gives you flexibility and practical choice for strategy documents, market reviews, executive summaries, and other complex workflows. You can A/B test reasoning approaches, set team quality baselines, and keep governance intact because controls and auditing remain inside the 365 copilot environment.
Microsoft adds Anthropic’s AI to Copilot: Claude Opus 4.1 and Claude Sonnet 4 enter the toolkit
Your Copilot toolkit now includes new Anthropic Claude models for heavy‑duty reasoning and agent building.
Claude Opus 4.1 powers Researcher as an alternative to OpenAI models. You can select Opus 4.1 in Researcher for demanding analyses and multistep synthesis across microsoft 365.
Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1 are also available inside Copilot Studio. That lets you assign a model per task and orchestrate multiple agents for enterprise workflows.
The Researcher rollout starts via the Frontier Program for microsoft 365 copilot license holders who opt in. Anthropic models run on Amazon and Google clouds and operate under Anthropic’s Terms of Service, which your admins can review.
That means you get model choice inside the same Researcher interface. You can compare outputs, document best practices, and scale adoption after pilot testing with a small team.
How to get access right now: opt‑in, admin controls, and rollout timelines
You can unlock model choice today by having your organization’s admin enable the option in the Microsoft 365 admin center. That step gives you immediate access for Researcher inside microsoft 365 copilot and for Copilot Studio projects.
Once enabled, the setting is on by default in the Power Platform Admin Center. Admins can then set guardrails, usage limits, and which users and makers can build agents and tools.
Copilot Studio availability begins in early release worldwide today, moves to preview across environments within two weeks, and is expected to be production‑ready by year end. Researcher with Claude is rolling out via the Frontier Program for opted‑in, licensed customers.
There’s also a safety net: if the option is turned off, agents automatically fall back to OpenAI GPT‑4o so critical workflows keep running. Keep in mind these anthropic models run on Amazon and Google cloud and are governed by Anthropic’s Terms of Service, so review data and policy changes before broad rollout.
What you can build: agents, workflows, and use cases powered by deep reasoning
Start building agents that combine chat, research, and tool use into end-to-end workflows. Copilot Studio now exposes model choice so you pick the right engine for each step.
Use Claude Opus 4.1 for structured, multi-document reasoning and Claude Sonnet for fast, conversational tasks. The prompt builder gives a drop-down to assign a model per prompt and lock in winning configurations.
Multiagent setups let agents hand off work across engines. You can mix Anthropic models, OpenAI, and the Azure model catalog so specialists collaborate without losing context.
Admins retain control over enablement and environments, with an automatic fallback to OpenAI GPT‑4o if needed. That keeps business processes reliable and auditable.
Typical uses: HR onboarding that separates FAQ chat from compliance checks, finance reconciliations that combine synthesis with data pulls, and IT triage that routes tickets to the best agent.
Looking ahead: more powerful experiences coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot
You’ll see model choice expand steadily in microsoft 365 copilot, unlocking new workflows and deeper reasoning. Anthropic models move from early release to preview in two weeks and aim for production by year end.
Copilot Studio will keep openai models as the default while letting you pick alternates like opus 4.1 or claude sonnet for specific tasks. The company is also testing an MAI‑1‑preview and keeping OpenAI's cloud arrangement in place during this phased rollout.
Plan pilots now. Test mixed models, set selection rules in researcher, and prepare governance so customers get flexibility and reliable results as options grow over the next year.