Microsoft Work IQ

Microsoft Work IQ is the intelligence layer that grounds Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents in an organization's email, meetings, chats, files and people data. Generally available as an API since June 2026, it lets enterprise developers give custom and third-party agents permission-aware Microsoft 365 context and actions without building their own Graph retrieval pipelines.

Microsoft Work IQ is the workplace-intelligence layer underneath Microsoft 365 Copilot, introduced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2025 alongside Fabric IQ and Foundry IQ. Microsoft describes it as three integrated layers: Data, which unifies signals from files, email, meetings, chats and business systems; Memory, which builds a persistent understanding of how people and teams work; and Inference, which combines models, skills and tools so agents can reason and act. For Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users it is built into every Copilot experience, but on June 16, 2026 Microsoft made it generally available as a standalone developer surface: the Work IQ API exposes four domains (Chat, Context, Tools and Workspaces) over A2A, a remote MCP server and REST. The Tools domain collapses hundreds of operations into 10 generic verbs such as fetch, create and update over mail, calendar, files, people, chat and sites, enforced by a Rego-based policy engine and scoped to the calling user's permissions; Workspaces uses SharePoint Embedded storage inside the tenant boundary for long-running agent state. Microsoft claims the APIs are 2x faster and use 80% fewer tokens than traditional APIs. Access is billed in Copilot Credits independently of Copilot seat licensing, with Tool calls at 0.1 credits each and Chat and Context charges varying by scenario complexity. A Node.js CLI and MCP server (@microsoft/workiq) lets GitHub Copilot and VS Code query a user's Microsoft 365 data, and Copilot Studio offers Work IQ as a preview MCP tool. In June 2026 Microsoft folded it into a broader Microsoft IQ context stack alongside Foundry IQ, Fabric IQ and Web IQ.

Category

Enterprise Search & Knowledge

Pricing

Usage-based, Subscription

Target Market

CIOs, CTOs, Enterprise Developers, IT Administrators

Deployment

Cloud-only, API-based

Founded

2025

Headquarters

Redmond, Washington, USA

Team Size

500+

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  Data, Memory and Inference layers

  Unifies Microsoft 365 signals, retains how people and teams work, and combines models and tools so Copilot and agents act on real context.

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  Work IQ API (Chat, Context, Tools, Workspaces)

  Generally available since June 16, 2026 over A2A, remote MCP and REST, so any agent framework can consume Copilot-grade workplace intelligence.

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  10 generic MCP tools

  Collapses hundreds of operations into verbs like fetch, create and update over mail, calendar, files, people, chat and sites, shrinking agent tool surfaces.

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  Rego-based policy engine

  Enforces context-aware rules on every request using resource path, method, identity and content, with every action scoped to the calling user's permissions.

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  SharePoint Embedded Workspaces

  Gives long-running agents persistent working storage inside the Microsoft 365 tenant boundary for intermediate data, reuse of results and handoffs.

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  Work IQ CLI and MCP server

  The @microsoft/workiq npm package lets GitHub Copilot CLI and VS Code query emails, meetings, documents and Teams messages in natural language.

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  Admin governance and cost controls

  Microsoft 365 admin center logs every tool call, sets spending limits by tenant, group or user, and keeps write operations off until enabled.

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  Context-aware coding

  A developer asks GitHub Copilot to implement a feature and Work IQ pulls the requirements discussed in meetings, emails and SharePoint specs.

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  Custom Copilot Studio agents

  Makers add Work IQ as an MCP tool so agents read email, calendar and Teams context and send messages on the user's behalf.

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  Third-party agent integration

  An ISV agent calls the Work IQ Context API to receive agent-ready, permission-trimmed Microsoft 365 context instead of stitching raw Graph calls together.

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  Long-running multistep workflows

  Agents use Work IQ Workspaces to keep intermediate outputs inside the tenant, enabling reliable task progression and handoff between agents.

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  Meeting follow-up triage

  A user asks which client issues raised in yesterday's Teams meeting were flagged as blocking and gets a summary grounded in meeting notes.

Work IQ API usage is metered in Copilot Credits independent of Copilot seat licensing: Tool API calls cost a fixed 0.1 credits each, while Chat and Context calls vary with scenario complexity. It requires a Copilot Studio usage-based billing plan tied to an Azure subscription. Licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot users get Work IQ inside Copilot experiences, but custom and third-party agent use is still billed by usage; Microsoft lists Copilot Business at $18/user/month (promo, paid yearly).

This page was written from 10 sources, 7 on domains other than microsoft.com.

1. 1.learn.microsoft.com — work iq
2. 2.learn.microsoft.com — cli
3. 3.learn.microsoft.com — add work iq
4. 4.microsoft.com — announcing the new work iq apisvendor
5. 5.microsoft.com — work iq general availabilityvendor
6. 6.microsoft.com — pricingvendor
7. 7.venturebeat.com — enterprise ai agents keep creating data silos microsofts bui
8. 8.directionsonmicrosoft.com — cio talk microsoft gets iq
9. 9.cloudwars.com — microsoft debuts work iq fabric iq and foundry iq a unified
10. 10.github.com — work iq