26 Sep 2025
Microsoft has added Anthropic’s Claude models (Sonnet 4 and Opus 4.1) to Microsoft 365 Copilot, letting users choose between OpenAI’s models and Claude when using the Researcher agent or building custom agents in Copilot Studio. In the Researcher flow— which searches your emails, meetings and documents—users will see a dropdown to switch models, so you can pick Claude’s writing strengths or OpenAI’s technical capabilities as needed.
A key caveat: Claude runs on Anthropic’s infrastructure, not Microsoft’s, so data routed to Claude leaves Microsoft’s environment. Organizations must opt in through their admin center before their users can select Anthropic models.
Microsoft’s move — which could expose Claude to hundreds of millions of Office users — signals a shift away from a single‑model approach. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman framed the change as providing “maximum optionality.” Practically, Copilot is becoming a small marketplace of models inside Office, with a persistent model‑picker that lets users choose the tool that best fits the task.
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