GPT-5.6 is now the preferred model in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Today, OpenAI announced GPT‑5.6, which will become the new preferred model in Microsoft 365 Copilot—in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Chat and Cowork. For Microsoft 365 customers, the update brings OpenAI's latest flagship model series into productivity tools people use every day, helping them create, analyze, and collaborate with more capable AI assistance across workstreams. GPT‑5.6 is OpenAI’s latest flagship model series, which delivers more useful work from every token, with stronger performance per dollar and on demand capability for the most complex tasks.

With GPT‑5.6, Microsoft 365 users will be able to create higher-quality work products with less effort across the apps they already rely on:

• In Word, GPT‑5.6 can help people draft, edit, and refine documents with fewer rounds of prompting.
• In Excel, it can support deeper analysis while using tokens more efficiently, helping users move faster from data to insights.
• In PowerPoint, it can help turn early ideas into more polished, visually compelling presentations with less manual guidance.
• In Cowork, it can help users complete complex, cross-functional work and produce higher-quality outputs with less manual coordination.

“We can’t wait for customers to see what GPT‑5.6 in Microsoft 365 will do, enabling them to work even more effectively with AI in the tools they use every day,” said Nitin Agrawal, President, Copilot & Agents Core, Microsoft. “Using Copilot powered by OpenAI’s latest model, customers will be able to produce more polished outputs in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Cowork, and Copilot Chat, whether they are drafting documents, analyzing data, creating presentations, or collaborating across teams. We’re excited to continue building with OpenAI to bring more powerful AI experiences to people and organizations around the world.”

“Microsoft 365 is where millions of people write, analyze, create, and collaborate every day,” said Nikunj Handa, Head of API Product, OpenAI. “By bringing GPT‑5.6 to Microsoft 365 Copilot through the OpenAI API, we're helping organizations get more useful work from every token, and more value from AI in the tools they already use.”

In addition to serving the models natively, Microsoft will also access OpenAI models directly through the API to bring GPT‑5.6 to Microsoft 365 customers.

Our partnership with Microsoft has always been about bringing the benefits of advanced AI to more individuals and organizations, and we’re excited to continue building on that shared