Microsoft Testing OpenClaw-Inspired AI Agent Capabilities for Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft is currently exploring the integration of OpenClaw-style AI capabilities into its existing Microsoft 365 Copilot platform, company representatives confirmed to The Information. These new features are built specifically for enterprise customers, and will ship with far more robust security controls than the notoriously high-risk open source OpenClaw agent.
OpenClaw is an open source AI tool that runs locally on a user’s personal device, allowing users to build custom autonomous agents that complete tasks on their behalf. If Microsoft releases its own full Claw variant — specifically a locally running agent matching the original open source project’s core design — it will join a growing lineup of agentic AI tools the company has launched over the past few months.
For example, Microsoft unveiled Copilot Cowork this past March. Unlike earlier Copilot tools that only generate search results or host chat in a separate workspace pane, Copilot Cowork is designed to actively execute actions directly across Microsoft 365 applications. The tool runs on Microsoft’s proprietary Work IQ technology, an intelligence layer that delivers a personalized experience for each user across the full Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Following Microsoft’s partnership with AI lab Anthropic in late 2024, the company also added Anthropic’s Claude model as an option to power Copilot Cowork. While OpenClaw supports integration with multiple large language models, Claude is the most popular model choice for the majority of the open source project’s user base. One key difference between Copilot Cowork and OpenClaw, however, is that Cowork operates entirely in the cloud, rather than on a user’s local hardware.
In February of this year, Microsoft also launched Copilot Tasks, another autonomous agent built to complete end-to-end user tasks, which was released in public preview at the time. Marketing materials positioned the tool as more focused on prosumer users rather than enterprise clients, with an allowed scope of work spanning Microsoft 365-native tasks like email organization to out-of-suite tasks like planning travel and managing appointments. Like Copilot Cowork, Copilot Tasks also runs on cloud infrastructure.
It remains unclear whether Microsoft’s new Claw-inspired offering will run fully locally on user devices, or if it will simply adopt the most popular features that OpenClaw’s community favors. Microsoft did tell The Information that one core feature of the new agent is that it will act as a persistent, always-on variant of 365 Copilot, capable of taking autonomous actions at any time. The core vision for the tool is an agent that can work through complex, multi-step workflows over extended periods of time.
While the open source OpenClaw project is compatible with Windows devices, the compact, affordable Mac Mini has become the preferred hardware platform for most OpenClaw users. Demand has grown so quickly that sales of the small cube-shaped Apple desktop have skyrocketed in recent months. This means Microsoft has a number of additional potential motivations beyond enhanced security to build its own in-house Claw alternative.
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According to reporting from The Verge, Microsoft is expected to showcase this new Claw-inspired tool (or an updated version of one of its existing Claw-like agent offerings) at its annual Microsoft Build conference this June.
While Microsoft declined to answer questions about specific details of the new agent, including how it compares to previously announced agent tools and whether it will run locally on user hardware (like the original OpenClaw) rather than in the cloud, a company spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the team is actively "experimenting."
"Across our work, we are continuously experimenting as we bring broader orchestration and autonomy to our enterprise and consumer AI experiences while staying anchored in security, governance, and trust—all with the goal of reducing day to day friction so people can focus on what matters most," the spokesperson said in a written statement.
Microsoft Testing OpenClaw-Inspired AI Agent Capabilities for Microsoft 365 Copilot
