Microsoft Shifts Gears on AI Strategy

Two years after describing AI as a "generational shift" in technology, Microsoft is taking a step back and re-evaluating its approach.

The company is merging its consumer-facing Copilot app and the more business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app, a move that follows a broader consolidation in the AI app space. As initially reported by GeekWire and detailed in Microsoft's support documentation, the tech giant will combine the functionality of its consumer-facing Copilot app and the more business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

This decision is an acknowledgement that personal and professional uses of AI often overlap, and that Microsoft's prior strategy was too complicated to make Copilot a viable competitor to the likes of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. It's also an admission that Copilot has lost its way, as Microsoft EVP Jacob Andreou said in an internal memo that the app needed to earn "the right to exist" in its customers' lives.

Features on the Chopping Block

• Group Chats: consumers will lose access to this feature by August 18, 2026.
• AI-generated podcasts: consumers will no longer be able to create AI-generated podcasts in Copilot.
• Copilot Labs experimental features: consumers will no longer have access to these features.
• Deep Research: consumers will lose access to this feature, but paying professional users will have a replacement in Researcher.
• Mico: the goofy animated character for Copilot will be discontinued.
• Other features: Microsoft warns that other features may temporarily disappear during the transition.

What's Next

Files generated by the standalone Copilot app will be migrated to OneDrive. The company will also introduce Researcher as a replacement for Deep Research for paying professional users. While the company says the goal is to make Copilot a "simpler, more cohesive experience," it's clear that Microsoft is taking a step back and re-evaluating its approach to AI.