Microsoft is leaning into agentic AI with a planned revamp of its own AI assistant, Copilot, according to a new report from The Information. The always-on Copilot, when launched, will be able to complete tasks for you, not unlike the viral OpenClaw platform. 

OpenClaw, the open-source platform for creating AI agents, catapulted agentic AI into the spotlight ever since it was released, and major AI players are jumping in headfirst. Nvidia recently released its own reference stack, NemoClaw, which provides some much-needed safety guardrails that OpenClaw doesn't currently have, such as the ability to track all actions the AI agent takes. This was shortly followed by Anthropic's announcement that subscribers with certain plans can have Claude perform tasks on their behalf.

OpenClaw's popularity seems to have piqued Microsoft's interest, too. Omar Shahine, Microsoft's corporate vice president, told The Information that the tech giant is looking into OpenClaw-like technologies. According to the report, sources also said Microsoft is working to make these technologies safer. 

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the company is working with OpenClaw to experiment with ways AI can help people actually do work.

"As customers adopt AI at scale, we're continuing to experiment with capabilities that move from conversation to action on your behalf," the spokesperson told CNET. "Our work with OpenClaw is still early, but it reflects that same focus: learning responsibly how to reduce everyday friction so people can spend more time on the work that matters most."

Safety is a concern with OpenClaw. There are virtually no security or privacy measures in place, making the platform feel like the wild west. It's why the likes of NemoClaw exist, so Microsoft prioritizing safety comes as no surprise if it's expected to deploy the new Copilot for enterprise. 

An agentic version of Copilot may be able to dip into your email and calendar to generate a to-do list for you each day. This would likely be just the beginning of the tool's functions, with more features to follow and further integration into Microsoft products. 

We might not have much longer to wait before we see the new agentic Copilot, either. Microsoft's developer conference, Build, is set to take place June 2-3, where AI will undoubtedly be a primary focus. If Microsoft can succeed in producing a safer agentic assistant with Copilot, it might steal some of OpenClaw's attention. 

Microsoft representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.