Microsoft Developing OpenClaw-Inspired AI Agents for 365 Copilot

Microsoft is developing new AI agent capabilities for its 365 Copilot platform that draw inspiration from the open-source OpenClaw project, according to The Information. A new internal team led by corporate vice president Omar Shahine is exploring how autonomous, always-on agents could operate within Microsoft 365 applications for enterprise users.

The initiative aims to create agents that can perform tasks continuously without user prompts, such as tracking Outlook emails and calendars or preparing daily to-do lists. These features would allow Copilot to work proactively across Microsoft apps, similar to OpenClaw’s ability to control applications directly on a user’s machine.

The effort is being overseen by Charles Lamanna, who also manages Microsoft’s Agent 365 product, which provides identity and access management for AI agents. Engineers from multiple divisions are experimenting with versions of OpenClaw-like agents for internal automation, including tools that assist product managers with project tracking.

Some of these new Copilot features could be previewed at Microsoft’s Build conference in June. While the work remains early, Microsoft executives are focused on ensuring that any OpenClaw-inspired agents meet the company’s enterprise security standards before release.