Box amplifies its content cloud power with a new Microsoft 365 Copilot plugin

Priya Walia

how Microsoft 365 Copilot works

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Box, Inc. has just unveiled a new plugin that works with Microsoft 365 Copilot, a cutting-edge AI workplace solution.

The integration offers Box customers even more features and benefits, including improved file management, communication, and collaboration capabilities, all through the Box Content Cloud.

Users can sift through shared Box documents within Teams, draw insights from their collaborator’s contributions, track project milestones, and keep up-to-date with team discussions. No more searching for information in multiple places and losing time in the process—an all-around win for productivity.

How does it work?

The newly released Box plugin enables Microsoft 365 Copilot to access and synergize with Box Content Cloud. With this power at their fingertips, users can:

  • Synthesize and summarize shared Box documents in Teams
  • Extract major milestones from shared content in existing projects
  • Avoid unnecessary navigation through Chats and Channels to follow conversations and acquire new knowledge more rapidly

Additional Integration Updates

The company has also leveraged its existing integration with Microsoft 365, creating enhanced features for file-sharing, editing, and collaboration within Microsoft Teams and Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Users can share and edit Box Notes directly in Teams’ Chats and Channels. This change minimizes fragmentation while synchronizing user access to files across Box and Teams, thanks to instant permission granting.

The integration update also introduces the default selection of Box as the cloud content management solution in Teams for different users or groups.

Box for Microsoft Office Desktop Co-Authoring Feature

As part of Microsoft’s Version 2302 release, available in July 2023, users can now co-author in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel desktop apps, with all their edits auto-saved back to Box. Other built-in features include:

  • Real-time collaboration on files in Microsoft Office desktop apps
  • Advanced feature access across Microsoft Office desktop apps
  • Preview, access, edit, and share file capabilities from Box Drive, Box web app, and Office desktop apps

Availability

Box plans to release its plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot as Microsoft makes its service available to qualifying customers. Current Box and Microsoft 365 customers can already access the Box for Office desktop co-authoring feature and enjoy the enhanced productivity and collaboration capabilities offered by Teams.