(Updated) Researcher in Copilot Notebooks

Message Center ID: MC1099685
Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft 365)
Plan for Change
New feature User impact Admin impact
September 2025 October 2025
Web

Summary

The Researcher Agent is integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout starts mid-September 2025, completing by late October. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing in-context research workflows without user action needed.

Details

Updated September 16, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-September 2025 (previously early September) and is expected to complete by late October 2025 (previously late September).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks

Related Roadmap Items

Change History

September 16, 2025 at 4:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
The Researcher Agent is integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout begins early September 2025, completing by late October. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing research workflows without user action needed.
New
The Researcher Agent is integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout starts mid-September 2025, completing by late October. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing in-context research workflows without user action needed.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-09-04T13:18:24.027Z
New
2025-09-16T15:23:53.140Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated September 4, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in early September 2025 (previously late August) and is expected to complete by late October 2025 (previously late September).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks
New

Updated September 16, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-September 2025 (previously early September) and is expected to complete by late October 2025 (previously late September).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks
September 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
The Researcher Agent is being integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout starts late August 2025, completing by late September. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing research workflows without requiring user action.
New
The Researcher Agent is integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout begins early September 2025, completing by late October. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing research workflows without user action needed.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-08-11T13:34:52.707Z
New
2025-09-04T13:18:24.027Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated August 11, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in late August 2025 (previously late July) and is expected to complete by late September 2025 (previously late August).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks
New

Updated September 4, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in early September 2025 (previously late August) and is expected to complete by late October 2025 (previously late September).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks
August 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
We're integrating the Researcher Agent into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex research across enterprise data sources using OpenAI’s model. Rollout starts late July 2025 and ends late August 2025. No action needed, but inform users of the enhanced research capabilities. Compliance considerations include data access and AI/ML interactions.
New
The Researcher Agent is being integrated into Copilot Notebooks, enabling complex, multi-step research across enterprise data using OpenAI’s model. Rollout starts late August 2025, completing by late September. The feature is on by default for eligible tenants, enhancing research workflows without requiring user action.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-07-16T15:43:31.237Z
New
2025-08-11T13:34:52.707Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated July 16, 2025: We have updated the timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in late July 2025 (previously mid-July) and is expected to complete by late August 2025 (previously mid-August).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks
New

Updated August 11, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We're expanding the capabilities of the Researcher Agent by integrating it into Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to conduct complex, multi-step research across enterprise data sources—without leaving the Notebook experience—using OpenAI’s deep researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493288

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in late August 2025 (previously late July) and is expected to complete by late September 2025 (previously late August).

[How this affects your organization:]

Users who currently have access to the Researcher Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will now also be able to use it directly within Copilot Notebooks. This integration enables more seamless, in-context research workflows, especially for tasks that require iterative reasoning and synthesis across multiple data sources.

This feature will be on by default for tenants with access to both Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific action is required at this time. This update builds on existing capabilities in Copilot Notebooks and the Researcher Agent. You may wish to inform users who rely on research-intensive workflows so they can take advantage of the enhanced experience.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Alters processing/storage/access of existing customer data? Yes – Researcher Agent may access enterprise data sources for research tasks
  • Introduces or modifies AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data? Yes – Uses OpenAI’s researcher model with chain-of-thought reasoning
  • Provides new ways for users to interact with generative AI? Yes – Enables generative research within Notebooks

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