Two years ago, Microsoft described AI as a “generational shift” in technology that it wants to usher in. The company is now merging its Copilot-branded consumer and business apps and retiring many unsuccessful AI features.
As first reported by GeekWire and detailed in Microsoft’s support documentation, the tech giant plans to combine features from the consumer-oriented Copilot app with the more business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app.
The move represents both a recognition that personal and professional uses of AI often overlap, and that Microsoft’s previous strategy was too complex to make Copilot a viable competitor to the likes of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
This also follows broader integrations in the AI apps space, including Claude integrating Cowork into Chat. OpenAI integrates agent functionality Operator into ChatGPT. And Google has added special features to the Gemini app, such as a combination of deep research and web browsing.
According to Microsoft, by August 18, 2026, consumers will no longer have access to group chats, Copilot’s AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs’ experimentation features, and Deep Research. For paid professional users, Researcher plans to offer at least the latter alternative.
The company also plans to discontinue the goofy animated character “Mico” for Copilot. Mico is a floating blob that is like an AI version of Clippy. Microsoft warns that you may temporarily lose other functionality during the migration, and files generated by the standalone Copilot app will be migrated to OneDrive.
The company says its goal is to make Copilot a “simpler and more consistent experience,” but it’s also an admission that Copilot has lost its way. In July, The Information reported that Microsoft Vice President Jacob Andreou, who oversees Copilot, said in an internal memo that the app needs to earn its “right to exist” in customers’ lives, and to do that it needs to move away from features that don’t work.
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