Microsoft Work IQ
Microsoft says it lets Copilot and agents reason across your business data, record relationships and business rules - modelled once, then reused across Copilot and agent experiences
Tool Overview
Details, capabilities and usage guidance
Features
- ✓ Grounded in business data: Microsoft says Work IQ grounds Copilot and agents in core business data from Dynamics 365 and Power Platform; business applications stay the systems of record, but their data and processes are modelled into reusable business understanding
- ✓ Availability: Microsoft says it is available in preview starting 30 September 2026, with rollout continuing throughout October 2026
- ✓ You stay in control: Microsoft says you refine what agents learn by enabling or disabling signals, excluding outdated views or relationships, and adding business vocabulary the system cannot infer
- ✓ Reusable business skills: Microsoft says a business skill combines instructions for a task with the context and resources an agent needs, so teams define it once and reuse it across all agents connected to Work IQ MCP, including agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio
- ✓ Governed actions: Microsoft says Copilot and agents present the proposed changes, follow any required approval and update the source records within the user's permissions, provided through new business apps tools in the Work IQ APIs
How to Use
- Read Microsoft's official Dynamics 365 blog post on Work IQ to confirm the preview timing, the capabilities and the products involved
- Connect and model your business data in Dynamics 365 and Power Platform so a reusable semantic model and business vocabulary exist
- Refine the business understanding agents rely on using the signal toggles, exclusions for outdated views or relationships, and added business vocabulary Microsoft describes
- Turn your organisation's playbook into reusable business skills, then use the Work IQ APIs so Copilot and agents can take governed actions within user permissions
FAQ
What is Work IQ?
Microsoft's official Dynamics 365 blog post says Work IQ grounds Microsoft Copilot and agents in your core business data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, so they reason across the productivity and business data that matters to your business.
When is it available?
Microsoft says it is available in preview starting 30 September 2026, with rollout continuing throughout October 2026. That blog post does not state general availability timing or pricing.
How is it different from plain retrieval?
Microsoft says connecting and modelling your business once creates a shared foundation for Copilot and agents: what your data means, how records relate and which business rules guide the next step, reusable without rebuilding context for every agent. Its example: an opportunity that looks healthy may need attention because of an unresolved service issue and recent customer emails, and Work IQ connects the account, equipment and contract definitions rather than simply matching words across records.
What are business skills?
Microsoft says a business skill combines instructions for a business task with the context and supporting resources an agent needs to carry it out. Teams define it once and reuse it across all agents connected to Work IQ MCP, including agents in Microsoft Copilot Studio - so business expertise becomes a maintained, reusable asset instead of another set of prompts to keep in sync.
How do governed actions work?
Microsoft says that through governed actions built into Work IQ, Copilot and agents present the proposed changes, follow any required approval, and update the source records within the user's own permissions. In its example, a sales lead asks to add a service improvement plan to a renewal opportunity and create a follow-up task for the account owner; Microsoft says these business apps tools are added to the Work IQ APIs.
How should a company start?
Microsoft's framing is to model the business once rather than rebuild context per agent: pick one or two high-friction processes that span systems, such as renewals or case routing, define agent permissions and data scope, refine the semantic model with signal toggles and business vocabulary, and turn existing playbooks into reusable business skills before widening the rollout.