Microsoft builds Copilot 'super app' and previews async agents at Build 2026

Microsoft is reportedly developing a Copilot 'super app' that unifies coding, chat and its broader Copilot AI tools into a single experience, per Fortune. Ahead of Build 2026 (kicking off June 2), CEO Satya Nadella framed the company's direction as evolving Copilots from synchronous assistants into 'async coworkers' capable of running long-horizon tasks autonomously, with Agent Mode now becoming the default interaction model.

Microsoft also gave Copilot a UI redesign, which Nadella's LinkedIn post (7,500+ likes) described as 'simpler, faster, and more intuitive,' claiming a 27-43% usage bump from a single week of data. The Register noted the redesign also 'buries an annoying button,' a reminder that UX polish accompanies the strategic repositioning.

Mechanically, the async-coworker framing is Microsoft's entry in the industry-wide assistant-to-agent pivot also visible in Google's Gemini Spark and OpenAI's Codex Windows computer use. The super-app consolidation aims to reduce fragmentation across Microsoft's sprawling Copilot surface area and create a single AI entry point across its ecosystem.

Competitively, Microsoft is leaning on distribution — Windows, Office, GitHub — to make Copilot ubiquitous, while reportedly building a proprietary model stack (Project Polaris) to reduce OpenAI dependence. The skeptical read on the 27-43% usage claim: one week of data after a redesign is thin evidence, and usage bumps often reflect novelty. Watch Build 2026 for concrete async-agent capabilities, the super app's actual scope and timeline, and how Microsoft balances its OpenAI partnership against its own model ambitions.