When does a bug become a feature? Microsoft needs to answer that question now that classic Outlook may hide the Copilot button and stop other Copilot features from working.
A bug that appears with build 20026.20182 of classic Outlook prevents access to Copilot Chat and removes Copilot entry points within the app.
"After classic Outlook for Windows updates to build 20026.20182 and higher, you no longer have Copilot Chat or Copilot entry points in Outlook," reads a Microsoft support document. "This issue happens if you have a Copilot Chat (Basic) license or a paid M365 Copilot (Premium) account."
While it's easy to joke about Copilot going missing being "addition by subtraction," the bug is likely frustrating for those that rely on Copilot within classic Outlook.
If your system is affected by the bug, the Copilot button could be missing from the top-right area above the ribbon. The Copilot icon can also go missing in the left app bar or the More Apps area.
Even if you see the Copilot icon in the Add Apps section, selecting "Open" may not do anything at all. Even if you've added Copilot through ribbon customization, the option may appear grayed out or unavailable.
Only classic Outlook is affected, meaning Copilot still appears and works as usual within the web version of Outlook and other versions. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app and web experience are also working normally, though it's worth noting Microsoft has a new unified Copilot experience rolling out.
If you need to use Copilot immediately, Microsoft suggests switching to Outlook on the web or the new Outlook app. While standard fixes like creating a new Outlook profile, clearing local cache data, re-signing into Office, or restarting Windows have been tried, Microsoft notes they don't consistently restore the missing buttons.
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Back in May, Microsoft confirmed that it was working on a Copilot super app that would merge the different consumer Copilot and productivity Copilot experiences under one app. Until now, Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot have been targeted at different users, but starting today those apps are being merged into one.
"We're updating Copilot to create a simpler, more cohesive experience for everyone," a new Microsoft Support document says. "Depending on the account and device you use, you will see changes to the Copilot app including changes to appearance and functionality, such as navigation, feature availability, or sign-in experience."
The unified Copilot experience begins its rollout today, but not everyone will see it right away. Microsoft says the experience will land on mobile first, with the unified Copilot on Windows and macOS being an opt-in experience at first, made available over the coming weeks.
The rollout should make it easier to move between using Copilot as an AI assistant for personal matters and using Copilot for productivity based tasks. For most people, not much will change with the unified app, which will simply appear as "Copilot" now. With that said, Microsoft does say that some features are going away with the unification. Those features include:
Group Chat
All group chat threads, messages, and images will not carry forward after August 18, 2026.
Users must manually copy or download anything they want to keep.
Podcasts
The Podcasts feature is being fully retired on August 18, 2026.
Users will no longer be able to create or access podcasts in Copilot after this date.
Individual podcast files can still be downloaded before retirement.
Deep Research
Deep Research is being retired for consumer users starting August 18, 2026.
Existing Deep Research content will remain accessible, but the feature itself will no longer be available.
For those using Copilot with a work or school account, Microsoft says the unified Copilot app is also coming to those accounts too. The personal and commercial accounts will be separated within the app, meaning data from your work or school account won't be shared with your personal account, and vice versa. "Work and personal accounts remain separate. Your organization's security, privacy, compliance, and administrative controls continue to apply when you use Copilot with your work or school account."
For those using the personal consumer Copilot app, you will notice an updated UI that more similarly matches the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. Those who use the Microsoft 365 Copilot app likely won't notice much of a difference, outside of the rebranded app to just "Copilot," along with a slightly updated logo.
For those curious, this is the new Microsoft Copilot icon and branding. Can you tell the difference? No, us neither.
The new Copilot logo is very similar to the old one. (Image credit: Microsoft)
Lastly, Microsoft has confirmed that all your Copilot data (except for the features that are being taken away) will migrate automatically to the new experience, meaning users won't need to do anything to ensure their chats and data are carried forward. All of that will happen automatically when the unified app lands on your device.
The unified Copilot experience begins its rollout today, though it's happening in waves so most users won't see the changes right away. Worldwide rollout for the mobile starts today, with rollout for Windows and macOS expected to start in mid September. Here's the full rollout schedule:
Mid‑August 2026 — Worldwide rollout begins for mobile and web apps; early‑access opt‑in opens for Windows and Mac apps; copilot.cloud.microsoft URL available in Frontier for testing.
Late August 2026 — Standard rollout of the URL redirect begins.
Mid‑September 2026 — Worldwide rollout begins for Windows and Mac apps.
Late September 2026 — Deferred rollout of the URL redirect begins for the web app.
Microsoft's unification of Copilot is a long time coming, and one that is setting the company up to deliver a Copilot super app experience that can do everything across Microsoft's platforms and services. It never made sense for Microsoft to split Copilot up between consumer- and productivity-based use cases, especially since users commonly want to do both.
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It's the year of Linux, haven't you heard? You may as well pack up your PC, study your favorite distro, and get ready to evangelize the open-source platform that will run on all systems in the future.
Joking aside, Linux has grown a bit in popularity and Microsoft continues to embrace it. While the tech giant has several apps and projects on Linux, Microsoft has not released an official Copilot app for Linux.
Sure, you could use Copilot on the web. Heck, you could even open up Microsoft Edge for Linux and install Copilot as a PWA (Progressive Web App). But where is the fun in that?
Instead, you could install the unofficial Copilot app for Linux built by Hayden Barnes. The app opens the Copilot web app in a dedicated GTK window and keeps your login session safely on disk. It also integrates with the desktop for autostart, system downloads, app launcher execution, and accessing hardware permissions like the microphone.
Barnes shared the project on X alongside a link to the app's GitHub page.
Many of the unofficial Copilot app's features overlap with using the web version of Copilot since Microsoft's AI tool is the center of the experience. But building the unofficial app as a native GTK application means its developer can deeply integrate system shortcuts, allow it to run quietly in the system tray, and trigger native OS notifications as opposed to relying on browser notifications.
Other benefits include native support for desktop accent colors and system dark themes. Overall, the app looks and feels far more natural on a Linux desktop than a standard browser window, and keeping Copilot isolated prevents it from slowing down if your main browser gets bogged down with dozens of open tabs.
The unofficial Copilot app for Linux is new, so we'll have to use it for a while to determine its long-term stability and performance. The first publicly available release of the app shipped this week.
We have a few systems running Linux spread across our team, so we'll let you know how the unofficial Copilot app performs over time.
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I've written thousands of articles for Windows Central and other outlets. I've gotten better at writing clean text the first time around, but I still rely on tools to proofread anything I put on the site. It's rare to be perfect on a first run, even with breaking news, so I appreciate a set of digital eyes looking things over.
For years, I relied on Microsoft Word to spot typos and mistakes, but over the last month I used Copilot and Gemini to look at my work. The experience has taught me a lot about how AI tools view text and where Editor within Microsoft Word is weak.
During my testing, I only used Copilot and Gemini to proofread text I had already written. I also used the free versions of both tools.
Copilot feels more personal
Copilot was more conversational than Gemini during my testing, but that was not always a good thing. (Image credit: Getty Images, Robert Way)
I primarily used Copilot and Gemini to proofread documents by following a specific prompt, so you may assume that the "personalities" of the tools would be hidden. Surprisingly, that was not the case. Copilot and Gemini respond to the same prompt differently, and in my experience, Copilot feels more personal.
Occasionally, I'd ask follow-up questions to clarify a correction or try to understand why one of the tools suggested a specific edit. In those cases, the personality differences between Copilot and Gemini were more apparent.
Both tools share the AI cliches you'd expect, like overusing the word "actually," using em dashes, and starting responses with phrases like "you hit the nail on the head."
Copilot usually understood the flow of a piece better than Gemini, which led to better corrections and suggestions in relation to phrasing. Copilot did better with analyzing editorial pieces and recommending how to rearrange a piece.
Gemini feels like a coworker
Gemini did not feel as bubbly as Copilot, but it was often more helpful. (Image credit: Getty Images | iStock | Kenneth Cheung)
Copilot feeling personal is fine for general queries, and I suspect it performs well on engagement surveys, but it's not necessarily the best thing in an AI tool. When presented with the same prompt as Copilot, Gemini often yielded more thorough and accurate corrections in relation to mechanical issues. It also wasted less time with pleasantries.
In my specific use case, Gemini felt like an upgraded Microsoft Editor while Copilot felt like a modern Clippy. Both assistants thrive in different areas and have their respective blind spots.
Gemini often tries to correct mistakes related to product names because its training data is old. I'd have to specifically tell Gemini to search the web to get context. Copilot needed nudging in this area as well, but not nearly as much.
Both are better than Microsoft Editor
Before trying Copilot and Gemini, I ran all my articles through Microsoft Editor to spot typos. I’ve continued to do that over the last month and was surprised by how much Microsoft Editor missed compared to Copilot and Gemini.
Microsoft Editor does a fine job spotting most typos or obvious grammar mistakes, but it struggles in nuanced areas. It feels like Microsoft Editor has a bunch of common mistakes programmed that it looks out for indiscriminately, and sometimes incorrectly.
For example, in a document I wrote asking for sponsors for the American football team I run, Microsoft Editor wrongly stated I needed to change “over time” to “overtime.” The phrase in question was, “Footballs wear down over time.”
Neither Copilot nor Gemini was tripped up by that phrasing. That was a trend in my testing, and it often occurred in reverse as well. Copilot and Gemini would spot times I accidentally typed “or” instead of “of” within a document. Editor did not flag those mistakes.
Overall, the AI tools feel like they look at a document with context. Both Copilot and Gemini would often spot incorrect tenses, typos that resulted in the wrong word appearing, and other issues that rely on viewing an entire sentence at once. In contrast, Editor feels like a big if/then machine with rigid rules applied without context.
You can do more with Copilot and Gemini
Copilot and Gemini have both proven useful during my testing, but I haven't used them to their full extent. Both tools are fully capable of generating text or converting rough drafts into polished copy.
I don't use AI to write anything I publish on Windows Central, so Copilot and Gemini were operating with heavy restrictions. When drafting some personal documents, I asked both AI tools to rewrite text, generate text from bullet points, and change the tone of my writing. Both did well, though I would always suggest that a human review any output.
If you need to create text and are okay having AI work alongside you, I think Copilot and Gemini have a place. In my experience, they do best with very clear instructions and after a human has done the heavy lifting, such as breaking down the key points needed in a section of text.
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Microsoft is making it genuinely difficult to write original headlines. The company is moving so many free features behind paywalls that I’m starting to worry readers will assume I’ve published the same article twice.
Now, Deep Research in Copilot is on the chopping block. And in a not-so-surprising move, the replacement for that feature requires a Microsoft 365 Premium subscription.
Deep Research is a Copilot feature that creates detailed reports and provides full citations. It will be retired on August 18, 2026. The successor to Deep Research is Researcher.
I wanted to run Deep Research to further detail the transition, but Copilot said it was already impossible to activate Deep Research mode. Apparently the August 18 cutoff is for full retirement but the feature is already being phased out.
Researcher and Deep Research overlap when it comes to features and purpose, but there are some differences. Researcher integrates with Microsoft 365 and is meant for business users.
Are we all just AI beta testers?
It feels like Microsoft has turned a corner in its AI strategy. After spending billions of dollars and trying to force-feed Copilot and other AI tools onto its users, Microsoft now has an idea of what people actually want. With all that data, Microsoft is trimming the fat and moving any tasty AI morsels behind paywalls.
The freemium model is not new, but it can be frustrating for users when pushed to the extreme. Companies often introduce features for free only to later evolve them into paid tools. This is especially common with smartphone apps, but it's a widespread strategy.
But requiring payment goes over easier when the paid products are better than what was once free. I'm fine paying for an app or service that's worth it, but simply shifting free features to paid subscriptions is poor form.
Microsoft should have the basic versions of features available through free apps, such as Copilot, then make better versions with more capabilities that are accessible to paid users. Right now, Copilot feels like a glorified demo or an interactive ad for what will eventually be paid products.
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