[German]Microsoft's next move in AI agents. Microsoft wants to provide its Office users with AI agents (which could also be seen as forced happiness) and describes this "new step" as "vibe working." Together with the switch from OpenAI to Antrophic's LLM, this fits in well, and Office users are being forced to use the functionality with CoPilot.
What's vibe coding?
In software development, "vibe coding" is currently being hailed as the philosopher's stone and a revolution. Developers are no longer needed; anyone can write code with zero knowledge of AI – that is the promise of "vibe coding."
According to Wikipedia, vibe coding is the term used to describe a type of software development in which the prompt of a large language model is used almost exclusively to generate the source code required for the software. Vibe coding is described there as a variant of prompt engineering.
The term originates from the above tweet by Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI and former head of AI at Tesla. Karpathy writes that the AI-generated code and method are particularly suitable for "disposable weekend projects." Unfortunately, Karpathy's tweet was picked up by the AI-must-be-inclusive bubble and set a trend in the discussion about the state of software development in 2025.
As of March 8, 2025, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines vibe coding as "writing computer code in a somewhat careless fashion, with AI assistance." In other words, having AI create programming code in a careless (uncritical) manner. I reported on the pitfalls that people who don't understand the generated code can fall into in my article Vibe Coding Fail: Drama in Brazil, dating app for lesbians exposes data.
Microsoft is hyperactive in the AI business
Based on my observations and impressions, Microsoft is hyperactive in all aspects of AI functionality in its products. Even half-baked features (as previews) are rolled out in Windows, Office, Edge, etc. In mid-September 2025, it was announced that all Office users would be "saddled" with a free version of CoPilot. Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook will be equipped with the AI chatbot free of charge worldwide.
But Microsoft is known for jumping on every bandwagon and quickly making a 180-degree turn. Just a moment ago, OpenAI's LLMs were the basis for Microsoft's CoPilot, and billions were invested in OpenAI. At the end of September 2025, Microsoft announced that it would now gradually start using Antrophic's LLMs as the basis for CoPilot.
Microsoft is now targeting Vibe Working to Office
The next step came on September 29, 2025, faster than you could blink. On Monday, September 29, 2025, Microsoft published the article Vibe working: Introducing Agent Mode and Office Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
It states that "Vibe Working" will be brought to Office applications with Agent Mode and to Copilot Chat in Microsoft 365 Copilot with Office Agent. Just as Vibe Coding changed software development, the latest inference models in Copilot are now unlocking the "productivity" of agents for Office applications (they talk about Office artifacts, which I only know from unfinished, broken parts).
Users should start with a simple command in the prompt window and then work iteratively with Copilot. This should allow users to control how agents coordinate multi-step tasks to create high-quality Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
This is the new working model for collaboration between humans and agents. Agent mode in Excel and Word delivers first-class, AI-generated spreadsheets and documents directly into the relevant Office applications, which are used by millions of people every day, according to Microsoft.
Soon there will be cool excuses when something bad happens: "Honestly, boss, I really can't help it, the AI agent did it all by itself. Sorry that the company is going down the drain. I guess Vibe Working wasn't for us after all…"
First, Vibe Working à la Microsoft will be available in Excel and Word, and soon in PowerPoint as well. The Office Agent will create sophisticated PowerPoint presentations and ready-to-use Word documents from chats in Copilot and soon in Excel as well.
Microsoft's exciting new promises for the new world of work with Office can be read in this article. The Register says, "Microsoft jumps on the vibe coding bandwagon with Vibe Working." What could possibly go wrong…?
