Ep 43 - Build 2026 Recap

In this episode of **The Copilot Connection**, Kevin McDonnell and Garry Trinder dive deep into the biggest developer-focused announcements coming out of Microsoft Build—and what they actually mean in practice. We unpack a fast-moving couple of weeks in AI, from the shift in how Microsoft shares Build news (goodbye *Book of News*, hello live blog and CLI tooling), to the hands-on, lab-heavy focus that signals a return to Build’s developer roots. Expect plenty of perspective on what stood out, what worked, and what felt different this year. The conversation then turns to one of the headline releases: **Copilot Cowork now generally available**. Kevin and Garry explore how Cowork changes the way we interact with Copilot - moving from simple chat to task-driven, cloud-executed workflows with deeper Microsoft 365 integration. They share real-world usage patterns, from daily task triage to cross-device workflows, and discuss the impact of its new **consumption-based pricing model** (and why “value over tokens” is the mindset shift we all need). From there, they step into the more experimental space with **Microsoft Scout**—a local, autonomous agent inspired by OpenClaw that introduces concepts like heartbeats, browser automation, and powerful extensibility. The duo compare Scout vs Cowork, weighing up local vs cloud agents, flexibility vs control, and the growing importance of governance as agents gain more autonomy. **Useful Links** - https://build.microsoft.com/ - Build Live Blog - Build Blog - be yourself at work - Build Next Steps GitHub Repo - Cowork GA - The Cowork Cookbook (community link) - Microsoft Scout - Work IQ GA - Work IQ Licensing - Windows Platform Security - Project Solara - Surface Laptop Ultra - Surface RTX Spark Dev Box