Microsoft introduced Code last month as one of the three core parts of its new Copilot app. The app was pitched as an easy-to-use coding agent that lets users describe what they want to build in natural language, such as an app, a tracker, a dashboard, an automation or a workflow, and Copilot would build it for them.
Essentially, it’s a workplace-focused vibe-coding app that turns existing work into a functional app, and Microsoft has started rolling it out through the Frontier program.
How it works
As mentioned, Copilot Code starts by asking what you want to build in natural language. It can then use Work IQ to pull context from emails, meetings, documents, chats and related data, helping it to work out requirements that were missing from the original query.
Once Copilot is done making the initial iteration of the app, users can refine it by giving the agents instructions in natural language. Users can also add visualizations, business logic, and new data sources without restarting. If you want to change the base code, you can edit it directly, work with local files and use a terminal.
It can grow into a real software project
Apps can run locally or be published in Microsoft’s managed cloud environment and shared across an organization. When a project grows beyond what one person can maintain, it can be linked to a new or existing GitHub repository and turned into a draft pull request.
Microsoft says that Copilot Code and GitHub Copilot use the same underlying agent technology, but they are intended for very different people. Copilot Code is where someone can start with a work problem and build a solution around it, even if they’re not a developer. If the project gets complicated enough to need real engineering work, GitHub is Copilot where developers can take over.