Computer use, now in public preview, gives your Microsoft Copilot Studio agents the ability to work with websites and desktop applications. Want an agent to extract data from a dashboard or fill out forms in an app that doesn’t have an API? With computer use, you simply describe the task, and your agent uses its own computer to complete it. Built-in reasoning lets it understand and adapt in real time to changes in apps and websites.
Starting today, customers with U.S.-based environments can add computer use to their agents directly as a tool.
New enhancements to computer use
With this public preview release, we’re introducing several enhancements:
- Hosted browser (powered by Windows 365) – Start automating web tasks right away, no machine setup required. Need to use custom desktop applications or access internal sites? You can always register your own machine.
- Getting started templates – Quickly explore pre-built templates for common scenarios to spark inspiration.
- Credentials – Securely store and use login credentials for websites and desktop applications that computer use needs to access.
- Allow-list – Define exactly which websites and applications computer use is permitted to operate on. If there is an attempt to go outside this list, the run will automatically stop.
Unlock new automation scenarios
With computer use, you can enable your agents to perform even more tasks, such as:
- Market research and data gathering – Build agents that can navigate across different websites, filter and read through dashboards, and collect the insights you need for analysis.
- Inventory tracking – Let agents check supplier portals and e-commerce sites to monitor product availability, delivery estimates, or stock levels.
- Automated data entry – Many processes require transferring information between systems that don’t expose APIs. Now your agents can navigate to those forms and enter the data for you.
Already using desktop flows in Microsoft Power Automate?
If you already use machines to run desktop flows, you can also use them for computer use in Copilot Studio. This allows you to build UI automations that go beyond the traditional limitations of robotic process automation (RPA), handling complex and dynamic interfaces with ease.
Computer use is especially valuable when:
- UIs shift frequently – Apps and websites are dynamic by nature, with layouts that can vary across versions.
- It’s easy to get started – Simply describe what you want in natural language, no coding required. You can test and refine with a side-by-side view of the computer and the reasoning chain.
- Vision matters – The task depends on what’s visible on screen, such as interpreting charts and images.
Get started
You can try the public preview of computer use today in Copilot Studio:
- In any US-based environment, create or open an existing agent.
- Go to Tools → Add tool → New tool.
- Select computer use and start building by simply describing the task you’d like done.
We can’t wait to see what you’ll create with computer use! To learn more, check out the documentation. If you have questions or feedback, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected].
