Microsoft combines business data and AI in new Work IQ

Microsoft has introduced a new tool called Work IQ. It is meant to give the company AI assistant Copilot and other AI agents direct access to data and knowledge from business systems such as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

The idea is that the AI should not only be able to read emails and documents, but also understand how the company actually works: which rules apply, which terms are used, and how different departments fit together. That way, the AI can give answers that fit the specific company better, instead of generic answers.

An example from Microsoft: an employee in a sales department asks Copilot which contracts are coming up for renewal soon and which require special attention. Normally a contract would look healthy on paper, but Work IQ can detect an unresolved customer issue that only shows up in emails and Teams meetings, and thus warn the employee in time. The system can then create follow-up tasks or update contract data on its own, though always within the permissions and approvals the employee already has.

The tool is built on three parts: an overview of the company's data and terms, reusable workflows (called "business skills") that several AI agents can use, and a feature that lets the AI take actions without bypassing the company's usual permissions.

Work IQ is an extension of the broader Microsoft concept in which Copilot gradually gets more context about the individual employee's work, style and habits. With Work IQ, this is expanded to also know the business itself, not just the individual employee's calendar and documents.

The tool will be available as a public preview from September 30, 2026, and Microsoft will roll it out gradually during October 2026. It is mainly relevant for companies that already use Microsoft's systems for sales, customer service or operations.

What this means for you

If you already use Dynamics 365 or Power Platform, Copilot will in future be able to give you answers and warnings based on your own data and rules, not generic guesses. If you work in sales, customer service or operations, it can save you time because the AI detects problems and creates follow-ups on its own. Keep an eye out for the public preview from September 30, 2026, so you can try the feature when it becomes available at your company. Remember that the AI can only do what you yourself have access to, so your permissions still set the limit.