Microsoft is expanding its AI offerings by integrating Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1 models into Microsoft 365 Copilot starting today. This strategic move diversifies model options beyond OpenAI's offerings, enabling Microsoft customers to leverage Anthropic's technology within Researcher and Microsoft Copilot Studio.
"While OpenAI's latest models will continue powering Copilot, we're now providing customers the flexibility to utilize Anthropic's advanced AI," states Charles Lamanna, president of Microsoft's business and industry Copilot team. "Introducing Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1 demonstrates our dedication to bringing top-tier AI solutions to Microsoft 365 Copilot, optimized for enterprise needs."
The Researcher feature now supports both OpenAI's reasoning models and Claude Opus 4.1. Users will notice a prominent "Try Claude" option in the Microsoft 365 Copilot interface, allowing seamless switching between AI providers. According to Lamanna, "Once activated, users can effortlessly toggle between OpenAI and Anthropic models within Researcher."
The new "Try Claude" button appearing in Researcher.Source: Microsoft
Copilot Studio, Microsoft's AI agent development platform, will also incorporate Claude Sonnet 4 and Opus 4.1 as customizable model options. "This update enables businesses to create sophisticated AI agents powered by Anthropic's technology for complex reasoning tasks and workflow automation," notes Lamanna. The platform will support hybrid configurations combining Anthropic, OpenAI, and other Azure-hosted models.
The Claude integration debuts today exclusively for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers enrolled in the Frontier program. Copilot Studio users may similarly opt-in for Claude access.
Notably, Anthropic's models will maintain their AWS hosting, despite Microsoft Azure's competitive standing. Microsoft currently accesses Claude through standard API channels, resembling typical developer access. Industry observers speculate about potential Azure hosting arrangements similar to Microsoft's recent partnership with xAI for Grok 3 deployment.
This announcement follows Microsoft's recent preference shift toward Anthropic models in Visual Studio Code, where GitHub Copilot subscribers now primarily utilize Claude Sonnet 4 for automatic model selection. Reports indicate forthcoming Claude integrations in Excel and PowerPoint, following performance benchmarks that surpassed OpenAI's offerings.
"This represents just the initial phase of our model innovation roadmap," Lamanna hints. "Customers can anticipate increasingly powerful Anthropic-powered capabilities coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot."
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