Accessed via Teams, Scout can also interact with a user’s browser and external apps via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The tool works in the cloud, on the desktop and on the web.
According to Shahine, Scout is able to reduce typical administrative tasks for office workers. This includes, for example, coordinating and planning meetings with colleagues or automatically blocking time slots in the calendar for upcoming tasks. “It can also identify risks, such as deadlocked decision-making processes, so that they can be addressed before they become obstacles,” explains the Microsoft manager.
Scout is initially available as an experimental version for customers of the Microsoft Frontier program. The prerequisite for this is configuration via Intune policies and an opt-in confirmation.
Part of Microsoft’s agent strategy
Scout is the latest in a series of agent-based tools available in Microsoft 365 apps. These include Agent Mode, in which users can work within applications such as Word or Excel with Microsoft 365 Copilot, as well as Copilot Cowork, Microsoft’s counterpart to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork agent, which can also carry out tasks independently.
Despite the strong AI focus, Microsoft has so far found it difficult to convince companies of the added value of Microsoft 365 Copilot. The solution costs an additional $30 per user per month for larger companies.
In January, Microsoft said that about three percent of Microsoft 365 customers paid for the Copilot additional subscription, which at the time represented about 15 million paying users. This number has now increased to 20 million users.
