Microsoft adds AI-powered deep research tools to Copilot

Microsoft’s AI chatbot, Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces a tool that is AI-powered for “deep research”.

A number of deep research agents have been launched in chatbots recently, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. They are powered by so-called reasoning AIs, which have the ability to solve problems and check their own facts — skills that are arguably essential for conducting in-depth analysis on a topic. Microsoft’s flavors of AI are called Researcher, and Analyst.

Researcher is a combination of OpenAI’s deep-research model, which powers Microsoft’s ChatGPT deep-research tool, with “advanced search capabilities” and “deep orchestration.” Microsoft claims Researcher can perform analyses such as developing a go to-market strategy and a quarterly report for clients. Microsoft says that Analyst is built on OpenAI’s o3 mini reasoning model, and it’s “optimized for advanced data analysis”. Analyst works through problems iteratively. It refines its “thinking” to provide detailed answers to queries. Microsoft said that Analyst can also use Python to handle complex data queries and expose its “work”. Microsoft’s deep-research tools are unique in that they have access to both work data and the internet. Researcher, for example, can use third-party data connectors in order to access data from AI agents, tools, and apps such as Confluence, ServiceNow and Salesforce.

It’s true that the real challenge lies in ensuring that tools like Researcher and Analyzer don’t make up stuff or hallucinate. Models such as o3 mini and deep research are not perfect. They sometimes miscite work, draw wrong conclusions, or use dubious public sites to inform their reasoning.

Microsoft has launched a new Frontier program that will allow Microsoft 365 Copilot users to access Researcher and Analyst. Researcher and Analyst will be available to Frontier customers in April. Frontier customers will receive experimental Copilot features before anyone else.

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