Microsoft Merges Copilot Apps, Cuts Mico and AI Features
Microsoft will merge its consumer and Microsoft 365 Copilot apps, retiring Mico, Group Chats, podcasts, Labs and Deep Research on August 18, 2026, in a reset.
Summary
On August 13, 2026, Microsoft confirmed it will combine its consumer Copilot app with the business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app. By August 18, consumers will lose Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs experiments and Deep Research, although paying professional users can use Researcher instead. Microsoft is also removing Mico, its animated floating character reminiscent of Clippy. Other features may disappear temporarily, while files created in the standalone Copilot app will move to OneDrive.
The plan, initially reported by GeekWire and detailed in Microsoft support documents, reflects overlap between personal and professional AI use and acknowledges that separate apps complicated Copilot’s challenge to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Microsoft calls the result a simpler, more cohesive experience, two years after declaring AI a generational shift it wanted to lead. The consolidation follows Claude folding Cowork into Chat, OpenAI moving Operator into ChatGPT and Google combining deep research, web browsing and other specialized tools inside Gemini. The Information reported in July that Microsoft EVP Jacob Andreou, who oversees Copilot, told employees the app must earn the right to exist in customers’ lives by abandoning unsuccessful features.
Positives
- Microsoft will unite consumer Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot functionality in one simpler app.
- Researcher will replace Deep Research for paying professional users after the consumer feature disappears.
- OneDrive will receive files generated through the standalone Copilot app during the transition.
- The unified product recognizes that customers increasingly mix personal and professional AI tasks.
Risks & concerns
- Consumers will lose Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs and Deep Research by August 18, 2026.
- Mico, Microsoft’s animated Copilot character inspired by Clippy, will be discontinued.
- Microsoft warns that additional features may temporarily disappear while it combines the apps.
- Jacob Andreou’s July memo said Copilot must earn the right to exist by dropping features that failed.
- Microsoft’s separate-app strategy had become too complicated to compete effectively with ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.