Microsoft brings Copilot apps together ahead of ‘super app’ overhaul

Microsoft will bring its two Copilot apps into a unified interface for consumer and work users, part of a wider drive to create a Copilot “super app” that consolidates various features. Until now, Microsoft has offered two Copilot apps across web, desktop and mobile platforms: a simplified, consumer-focused Copilot app, and Microsoft 365 Copilot, which combines the AI assistant with access to Microsoft’s productivity apps and files.  Microsoft on Thursday announced an “updated Copilot app” aimed at providing a “simpler, more cohesive experience” for personal and work users.   For users of the consumer Copilot app, the update will provide access to Microsoft 365 tools such as Word, Excel, and Outlook from within Copilot, as well as the ability to connect email, calendars and cloud storage. At the same time, some features previously available in the consumer-focused app will be retired, including group chats and Deep Research, though Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers will still have access to a similar research tool called Researcher. The changes mean consumer Copilot app users will be moved to an updated version of the app starting Aug. 18, with their history and most content carried across. For Microsoft 365 Copilot work accounts, there’ll be minimal changes aside from a change to the app name and icon, Microsoft said.  As the two apps are brought together, Microsoft said work and personal accounts will remain separate, with security and admin controls remaining in place when users are logged into their Microsoft 365 Copilot account at work:   “Commercial data boundaries, tenant controls, and compliance protections are not changing,” the company said. “The boundaries that keep work and personal separate remain in place: Personal (Microsoft account) and work (Microsoft Entra) accounts are distinct by design. Data entered into the work (Microsoft Entra) experience does not flow into the personal (Microsoft account) experience, and vice versa.” The changes can be viewed as part of a wider overhaul of Microsoft’s Copilot strategy, which centers around the introduction of a “super app” later this quarter. The plan — rumored for some time and recently confirmed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in an earnings call — is to consolidate various Copilot features, including Copilot Cowork and “autopilot” agents into a single app.  Microsoft has struggled to convince business customers to pay for the Microsoft 365 Copilot since it launched in 2023. The AI assistant costs $30 per user each month in addition to Microsoft 365 subscriptions for enterprises, and $20 per for user a month for smaller firms. (Microsoft does offer promotional discounts.) Microsoft said earlier this year that it had 15 million paid seats, meaning that only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 customers pay for the tool. That figure has grown however, reaching 30 million paid seats as of last month, the company said.