Microsoft is combining its consumer-facing Copilot app and the business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app into a single unified application, while retiring several AI features that failed to gain traction2,5.
The merged app will carry the "Microsoft Copilot" name with an updated icon, and will house both personal and work accounts in one interface. The rollout begins on mobile and web in mid-August, with desktop following in mid-September4. The consolidation eliminates the dual Copilot icons that currently appear in the Windows system tray and taskbar.
"Starting with a fresh look, the updated app combines the best of Copilot chat and image creation, with the power of Microsoft 365 for your work," Microsoft said in its update announcement.
Alongside the merger, Microsoft is cutting several features from the consumer Copilot app. Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs experimental features, and Deep Research will all be removed by August 18, 2026. For paying enterprise users, a feature called Researcher will serve as a replacement for Deep Research. Microsoft is also retiring Mico, the animated blob character that TechCrunch described as "an AI-ified version of Clippy". Additional features may temporarily disappear during the transition, Microsoft warned.
The restructuring follows what TechCrunch characterized as an acknowledgment that Microsoft's prior strategy — splitting AI functionality across separate consumer and business apps — was too complicated to make Copilot competitive against ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. TechCrunch also noted a broader pattern of consolidation across the AI app space, citing Anthropic merging Cowork into Claude's Chat interface, OpenAI folding its Operator agent into ChatGPT, and Google adding specialized capabilities like deep research and web browsing directly into its Gemini app.
ANALYSIS The feature cuts are as notable as the merger itself. Deep Research is being removed from the consumer app while enterprise users retain access to a replacement called Researcher — a division that concentrates advanced capabilities behind paid subscriptions. The simultaneous retirement of Copilot Labs removes the consumer-facing experimentation channel Microsoft had used to test new AI features.
Consolidating two apps into one reduces the surface Microsoft must maintain and market, but it also compresses the distinction between consumer and enterprise offerings into a single product that must serve both audiences without confusing either.