Krux
April 1, 2026
Microsoft's Copilot Now Pits OpenAI Against Anthropic Mid-Task
Published: April 1, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Updated: April 1, 2026 at 12:35 AM
100-word summary
Microsoft just added Anthropic's Claude to Copilot alongside OpenAI, but the twist is how they work together. A new "Critique" layer has Claude review outputs before you see them, while "Model Council" lets you compare answers from both models side-by-side before choosing one. Copilot Cowork, rolling out in early access now, handles multi-step projects over hours or days—think building a sales deck, pulling data, drafting emails, and booking meetings without you babysitting each step. Microsoft is betting that mixing models reduces the risk of betting everything on one AI vendor. Agent 365 launches May 1 at $15 per user monthly.
What happened
Microsoft just added Anthropic's Claude to Copilot alongside OpenAI, but the twist is how they work together. A new "Critique" layer has Claude review outputs before you see them, while "Model Council" lets you compare answers from both models side-by-side before choosing one. Copilot Cowork, rolling out in early access now, handles multi-step projects over hours or days—think building a sales deck, pulling data, drafting emails, and booking meetings without you babysitting each step. Microsoft is betting that mixing models reduces the risk of betting everything on one AI vendor.
Why it matters
Agent 365 launches May 1 at $15 per user monthly.