Microsoft merges Copilot apps into one: the consumer Copilot app and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app are becoming a single experience, while several little-used features get cut starting August 18.
It is a long-overdue cleanup. Running two separate assistants, one for personal use and one for work, confused users and doubled Microsoft's maintenance work. Now there is one Copilot app for everything, with personal and work accounts kept separate inside it.
Key takeaways
One app: Consumer Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot combine into a single app that keeps the Microsoft Copilot name.
Features cut: AI podcasts, Group Chats, Copilot Labs, and the Mico avatar are being retired.
Deep Research leaves the free tier: Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers keep access through the Researcher tool.
Timeline: The merged app rolls out on mobile and the web from mid-August, with Windows and Mac following in mid-September.
Why Microsoft merges Copilot apps into one app
Most people bounce between personal and work tasks all day. Having a different Copilot app for each created pointless friction: two interfaces to learn, two sets of quirks, twice the confusion. Folding them into one app gives users a single assistant that follows them through their day, and gives Microsoft one product to maintain instead of two.
This follows a pattern. Back in May, Microsoft retired the separate Copilot Mode in Edge and folded its AI browsing features straight into the browser. The same thinking applies here: fewer standalone apps, less friction, and a cleaner answer to rivals that already ship one unified assistant.
What is being cut: features retiring August 18
Microsoft merges Copilot apps while pruning the features that never caught on. Here is exactly what is going away:
Podcasts: Microsoft is retiring AI-generated podcasts on August 18 for free and paid users alike. Podcasts you have already created, and any links you have shared, will stop working after that date.
Group Chats: Group chats are going away with the migration, and existing threads, messages, and shared files will not carry into the new app. Save anything important before the switch.
Copilot Labs: The experimental Labs features are being shut down.
Mico: The animated avatar introduced in October 2025 is leaving standard Copilot Voice in stages and moving to Microsoft's Learn Live experience. Copilot Voice itself is not going anywhere.
Deep Research: Deep Research leaves the free consumer tier on August 18. Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers can keep building detailed reports with Researcher, and their saved reports stay available there. Personal and Family subscribers can still find older reports in their chat history.
One more heads-up: Microsoft has warned that Copilot Health may be briefly unavailable during parts of the rollout.
Timeline: when the changes land
Mid-August: The merged app starts rolling out globally on mobile and the web, and the first feature retirements take effect on August 18.
Mid-September: Windows and Mac get the updated app.
Separate accounts: Personal, work, and school accounts will share the new app, but Microsoft says chats, content, and data stay separated by account type.
One app, but work and personal stay separate
The merger changes the interface, not your identity. Microsoft Entra work and school accounts remain separate from personal Microsoft accounts, and Microsoft says existing enterprise security, compliance, and governance controls will keep applying.
Still, IT admins should check which workflows lean on the retiring features and give users a heads-up on the schedule. Podcasts and Group Chats need the most attention, since those experiences disappear outright.
What this means for your team
Microsoft merges Copilot apps for a simple reason: most of the value, and most of the revenue, sits in the everyday assistant, not the experiments. Cutting features almost nobody used is Microsoft doubling down on what businesses actually pay for: dependable chat, image creation, and research tied into Microsoft 365. The company is already moving toward a bigger super app vision that pulls Copilot chat, coding, Cowork, and Autopilot together.
If your team relies on any of the retiring features, line up alternatives now and brief your users before August 18. And if the shake-up has you rethinking your team's tooling, our web development services team can help you build around what stays.
How to prepare before August 18
Audit usage: Check whether anyone on your team uses Podcasts, Group Chats, or Deep Research in the consumer app.
Save what matters: Copy important group chat threads somewhere safe, since they will not migrate to the new app.
Brief your users: Let people know the app is changing, and reassure them that work and personal accounts stay separate.
Review licenses: If Deep Research matters to your workflow, confirm your Microsoft 365 Premium coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Microsoft merging its Copilot apps?
To end the confusion of running two separate assistants for personal and work use. One app is simpler for users and cheaper for Microsoft to maintain, and your work and personal accounts stay separate inside it.
What happens to my chats and files?
Existing Copilot users move to the updated app with their chats and content intact. The exception is Group Chats: those threads, messages, and shared files will not carry over, so save anything you need first.
Is Deep Research gone completely?
Not for everyone. It is leaving the free consumer tier, but Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers keep full access through Researcher, including their saved reports. Personal and Family subscribers can still pull up older reports from their chat history.
Which features were permanently removed?
AI podcasts (retired August 18 for free and paid users), Group Chats, and Copilot Labs. The Mico avatar is also leaving standard Copilot Voice, though it is moving to Microsoft's Learn Live experience rather than disappearing entirely.
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