Microsoft opens Copilot Code to wider audience for building workplace apps from prompts

Microsoft is widening access to Copilot Code, a preview tool that turns natural-language descriptions into workplace apps and can hand larger projects over to GitHub for formal development.

Microsoft has started widening access to Copilot Code, a preview feature in its refreshed Copilot app that is designed to turn plain-language prompts into working software. The tool is aimed at people who want to solve a workplace problem quickly, rather than write code from scratch, and Microsoft is distributing it through its Frontier early-access programme. According to Microsoft’s own support material, the feature is built for rapid prototyping and lighter-weight internal tools, but it can also be used to produce more substantial projects.

The process begins with a description of what the user wants to build, such as an app, dashboard, tracker, automation or workflow. Microsoft says Copilot Code can use Work IQ to draw on context from emails, meetings, documents, chats and connected data sources, which helps it fill in gaps that are not explicit in the original prompt. Once an initial version is generated, users can refine it with further natural-language instructions, add charts, business rules and new data sources, and, if necessary, edit the code directly, work with local files and use a terminal.

Microsoft also says the same underlying agentic technology powers both Copilot Code and GitHub Copilot, although the two products are intended for different audiences. Copilot Code is positioned as a starting point for non-developers who need a functional solution to a work problem, while GitHub Copilot is meant to take over when a project becomes complex enough to require conventional engineering work. The company says projects can run locally or be published to Microsoft’s managed cloud environment, and that they can be shared across an organisation.

For larger efforts, Microsoft says Copilot Code can be connected to a new or existing GitHub repository and turned into a draft pull request, creating a path from quick prototype to more formal software development. That handover is consistent with Microsoft’s broader push to let users move between Copilot Pages, App Builder and Copilot Studio, where related preview tools also generate runnable code, data models and user interfaces from natural-language prompts. The result is a tighter set of building blocks for office users who want to create internal software without first learning a traditional development stack.