Microsoft publishes new findings on how companies are adapting their operating model to the era of artificial intelligence. The Work Trend Index 2026 highlights how collaboration between people and intelligent agents is already transforming the way work is organized in companies in different sectors.
Among the most notable conclusions of the study are:
- Four collaboration models between people and AI are transforming the way we work. Pioneering companies already operate by combining different patterns: author, you are the one who does the work and you turn to AI when you need it, encouraging specific collaboration to write a line of code, a sentence or create a graph; editor, you define the intention and the AI generates a first draft, which you subsequently review, adjust and validate in a continuous collaborative process; director, you develop specifications and delegate complete tasks for the AI to execute autonomously in the background, maintaining strategic collaboration; and orchestrator, you design a system in which several agents work in parallel within a flow, promoting coordinated and efficient collaboration, notifying you only when incidents arise or it is necessary to make decisions that require your intervention. The challenge is not to choose one, but to apply the appropriate model to each collaboration process.
- AI expands individual potential and redefines key skills within collaborative environments. 58% of users affirm that today they produce work that they would not have been able to do a year ago, a figure that reaches 80% among the most advanced profiles. Skills such as quality control of the results generated by AI and critical thinking in collaborative contexts gain weight.
- Organizations experience a paradox between performance and transformation. Although 65% of professionals fear being left behind if they do not adapt to AI, only 13% perceive that the new way of organizing work based on collaboration is truly rewarded. The pressure to meet short-term objectives continues to hold back structural change.
- Culture and leadership are the main accelerator of adoption and effective collaboration. Organizational factors such as culture, manager support or talent policies have more than twice the impact on the actual use of AI than individual attitude. The key is no longer just access to technology, companies must be designed to learn and evolve through collaboration.
Need to connect data with the system
Companies that develop a new operating model today will not only move faster in the short term, but they will build something stronger, preparing to generate value in ways we cannot yet imagine: an organization that learns faster than its competitors, boosts its own intelligence and strengthens collaboration, becoming more elusive with each cycle. In this sense, Microsoft 365 Copilot makes this vision a reality.
AI expands individual potential and redefines key skills within collaborative environments
Copilot is part of the system where work is carried out: it is integrated into the Microsoft applications you use daily, with agent functions in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, based on your work data and facilitating continuous collaboration by being connected to the other applications you use.
Connectors and add-ons integrate data from all your applications and systems, allowing Copilot and Cowork to better understand the context of your business and enhance collaboration between tools and teams. Custom and native add-ons with Fabric and Microsoft Dynamics 365 are now available in Cowork, with integrations coming soon with partners such as LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group), Miro, monday.com, S&P Global Energy and others. The first batch of Copilot federated connectors is now available through partners such as HubSpot, LSEG, Moody’s, and Notion in Microsoft 365 and Researcher. They will also be available in Excel this summer.
