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An expedition log · June 2026

Mapping the Autopilots

Microsoft's search for the treasure of autonomous AI agents — charted honestly

Build 2026 · Ignite 2025 · Frontier Program · Agent 365 · Power Platform
Map Legend
Frontier Only Active but preview-gated, requires special enrollment
GA Generally available, can be purchased
Preview Released but incomplete; capabilities still in flux
Unconfirmed Announced but not yet tangible — pricing, dates, or features unverified
The Expedition Route
🏰
Copilot Studio Agents
GA Sep 2025
🔭
Project Opal
Frontier Nov 2025
🌊
Agent 365
GA May 2026*
📋
Copilot Tasks
Waitlist 2026
🌀
Copilot Cowork
Frontier Mar 2026
🗺️
Microsoft Scout
Frontier Jun 2026
💎
True Autopilot
Destination Unknown
The Expedition Dossiers
Frontier Only
MSFT-SCOUT-001 · Build 2026

Microsoft Scout

"Always-on, cloud-native personal Autopilot" — the flagship Build 2026 announcement

AnnouncedJune 2, 2026 at Build 2026
RuntimeLocal desktop app (Windows 11+ / macOS 12+), built on OpenClaw open-source framework
AccessRequires: Frontier enrollment + M365 Copilot license + GitHub Copilot Business/Enterprise + Intune policy + admin attestation
PricingUnconfirmed. "M365 E3/E5 add-on" cited by press — no SKU published
GA targetOctober 2026 (secondary sources only — not a Microsoft commitment)
OriginCVP Omar Shahine's personal "Project Lobster" (started Feb 6, 2026) → renamed ClawPilot → renamed Scout
Entra IDEach Scout instance gets an Entra Agent ID; full tenant-level controls are still in development

📜 Promised
⛏️ Found
  • Always-on, cloud-native
  • Works in Teams
  • Enterprise-trusted day one
  • No prompting needed
  • Local desktop binary
  • No Teams bot in preview
  • Multi-step admin prereqs
  • Approval gates for most actions
Frontier Only
MSFT-OPAL-002 · Ignite 2025

Project Opal

Computer-use agent running in a secure cloud PC — the most honest implementation of the "doing" vision

AnnouncedNovember 19, 2025 at Ignite 2025
RuntimeCloud — Windows 365 for Agents VM (Entra-joined, Intune-managed, isolated sandbox)
AccessM365 Copilot app → Frontier module. Requires M365 Copilot subscription + org enablement
PricingConsumption-based via Windows 365 for Agents — rate not publicly confirmed
What it doesBrowser-based computer use: portal navigation, form submission, onboarding tasks, compliance data gathering across internal sites
LimitsBrowser/web only — no native Dataverse API, no shell, limited to org-approved sites via Intune policy

📜 Promised
⛏️ Found
  • Automate repetitive work
  • Full observability & control
  • Enterprise-secure sandbox
  • ✓ Cloud VM is accurate
  • ✓ Live view + pause/override
  • Browser scope only; no API access
Frontier Only
MSFT-COWORK-003 · Wave 3

Copilot Cowork

Microsoft's Claude-powered "doing" agent — built with Anthropic, wrapped as M365 Copilot Wave 3

AnnouncedMarch 9, 2026 — "Frontier Suite" launch event
RuntimeCloud-only. Microsoft: "We don't work locally, and that's a feature, not a bug."
EngineBuilt on Anthropic's Claude agentic harness — same model as Claude Cowork standalone
PricingPreview usage included in M365 Copilot at $30/user/month
ContextGrounded in Work IQ (M365 Graph-based semantic layer) for email, calendar, files, meetings
StatusFrontier preview as of June 2026; no standalone GA date published
NoteMicrosoft is simultaneously a paying Anthropic customer and a reseller of Anthropic's technology under its own brand
GA — Partial
MSFT-A365-004 · Ignite 2025

Agent 365

The governance control plane — "E5 but for agents" — but GA shipped with key capabilities still in preview

AnnouncedIgnite 2025; GA May 1, 2026
Pricing$15/user/month standalone; included in M365 E7 Frontier Suite ($99/user/month)
What's GAOn-Behalf-Of (OBO) agent governance — agents acting on a licensed human's delegated token
Still previewAgent-identity auth (autonomous agents with own identities); security posture mgmt for Foundry/Copilot Studio agents; runtime threat protection
The gapOBO agents inherit a user's delegated token — not a true independent identity. If the user leaves, the agent stops.
Local controlDefender + Intune can now discover and block unmanaged local agents (OpenClaw, etc.) on Windows — GA

📜 Promised
⛏️ Found
  • Digital workers with own identities
  • Enterprise-grade autonomous agents
  • Complete governance at GA
  • OBO only — still human-delegated
  • Inventory + control layer is real
  • True autonomous identity: still preview
Waitlist
MSFT-TASKS-005 · Consumer Copilot

Copilot Tasks

Consumer-side autonomous task execution — announced Feb 2026, waitlist-only; most practitioners never got in

AnnouncedFebruary 26, 2026 as a research preview
RuntimeCloud — dedicated browser and "own computer" in Microsoft's infrastructure
AccessWaitlist at copilot.microsoft.com/tasks/preview — many applicants still waiting as of June 2026
PricingNot confirmed. Consumer Copilot tier (free/Pro) — no enterprise SKU visible
GA dateNot announced
PositioningFramed as the move "from answers to actions" on the consumer Copilot side — consent-gated, observable
OverlapUnclear relationship to Project Opal, Scout, or enterprise Autopilots — different team, different surface
GA
MSFT-CPS-006 · Power Platform

Copilot Studio Autonomous Agents

The build-your-own path — low-code, Dataverse-grounded, consumption-priced. The only fully GA autonomous option.

StatusGA — autonomous agents and agent flows reached GA September 2025; multi-agent orchestration GA May 2026
RuntimeCloud, M365/Power Platform tenant — Dataverse-backed, Entra Agent ID per agent
PricingCopilot Credits: 25,000 credits = $200/month (no rollover). Autonomous triggers cost extra even for licensed M365 Copilot users.
Key trapAutonomous triggers are metered separately — budgeting on seat licenses alone will cause billing surprises
Relationship to "Autopilots"No clear mapping. "Autopilot" is a Scout/Build 2026 marketing term. Copilot Studio agents are not called Autopilots.
Work IQCopilot Studio agents can consume Work IQ MCP tools; Work IQ API goes GA June 16, 2026. Dataverse is an additive layer.

📜 Common Assumption
⛏️ Reality
  • M365 Copilot license covers all agent usage
  • Dataverse is native to all agents
  • Autonomous triggers always billed separately
  • Dataverse MCP requires User SL; Dyn365 data needs Premium license
The Licensing Chart
Product License Required Price Signal Autonomous Use Cost Confirmed?
Scout M365 Copilot + GitHub Copilot Biz/Ent + Frontier AI credit-based usage from day one Unknown Unconfirmed
Project Opal M365 Copilot + Frontier enrollment Consumption via Windows 365 for Agents Consumption-based — rate not published Partial
Copilot Cowork M365 Copilot ($30/user/mo) Some usage bundled in M365 Copilot seat Unknown Unconfirmed
Agent 365 Standalone $15/user/mo or M365 E7 ($99) $15/user/month OBO only — per-autonomous-agent pricing TBD Price confirmed
Copilot Tasks Consumer Copilot (free/Pro) Unknown Unknown Unconfirmed
Copilot Studio Agents Power Platform / Copilot Studio license 25,000 Copilot Credits = $200/month ~25 credits per autonomous trigger (even for M365 Copilot users) Confirmed
Notes from the Field
🔴 Scout is not purchasable
There is no SKU for Scout. If stakeholders ask for "the Build 2026 agent," the answer is: Frontier-only desktop preview, two separate license prereqs, no pricing, GA not before October 2026.
⚠️ Agent 365 GA ≠ autonomous agents
The May 1 GA covers On-Behalf-Of governance only. True autonomous agent identities with their own credentials remain in preview. "Every agent gets an Entra ID" describes an aspiration, not what's available in production today.
📋 Copilot Studio is the only fully GA path
For practitioners building or governing autonomous agents today, Copilot Studio agents are the only fully GA and purchasable option. Build policy around autonomous trigger costs before provisioning agents in production environments.
🔴 OpenClaw on endpoints is a governance event
Scout's OpenClaw foundation means the runtime is arriving on managed Windows devices. Microsoft's own Defender guidance treats OpenClaw as untrusted code execution with persistent credentials. Govern before Scout forces the question.
⚠️ "Autopilot" is a marketing category, not a product tier
Introduced at Build 2026 with Scout as the only member, "Autopilot" has no relationship to Copilot Studio autonomous agents, Agent 365, or Copilot Cowork in Microsoft's published product taxonomy. It is not a purchasable category.
📋 Project Opal is the sleeper
Opal's cloud-sandboxed Windows 365 for Agents architecture is the most technically coherent implementation of computer-use for enterprise tasks. It received minimal Build airtime but is the most governable of the three computer-use surfaces.