Microsoft merges its consumer and 365 Copilot apps and retires five features on 18 August

Microsoft is combining the consumer Copilot app and the business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot into a single application, and retiring Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs, Deep Research — replaced by Researcher for paying professional users — and the animated character Mico by 18 August 2026. TechCrunch reported the change on 13 August 2026; an internal memo it cites has the executive overseeing Copilot saying the app had to earn "the right to exist" by moving past features that underperformed.

What it means Five features cut with five days' notice is a reminder that assistant surfaces are not stable platforms; anything built on Deep Research needs a Researcher migration before the 18th.