Microsoft just killed the confusing two-Copilot mess. Starting now, there’s one Copilot app for everything — consumer chat, Word documents, Excel analysis, all of it. But they’re also killing three features on August 18. If you use any of them, you have days to save your data.
Here’s what’s happening, what’s disappearing, and what you need to do right now.
What’s Happening: One Copilot App for Everyone
For the longest time, Microsoft split its AI into two products. “Copilot” for regular people chatting at copilot.microsoft.com. “Microsoft 365 Copilot” for enterprise users inside Word, Excel, Teams. Different apps. Different features. Different logins. Confusing as hell.
That ends now. Microsoft announced the merge this week. One app. One icon. One place for all Copilot interactions regardless of account type.
Consumer users: you’ll move to the new unified app on desktop. Mobile users get an app update. Enterprise users: your existing Microsoft 365 Copilot app updates in place with minor navigation changes. Everyone’s chats and content migrate automatically, tied to the account that created them.
If you use both? They merge. Personal chats stay personal. Work chats stay work. But they live in the same interface now.
Which App You Have and What You Need to Do
Check your current setup:
| If you use… | Your app is called… | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot at copilot.microsoft.com | “Copilot” | Migrates to new unified app (desktop) or updates (mobile) |
| Copilot in Word/Excel/Teams at work | “Microsoft 365 Copilot” | Updates in place, minor UI changes |
| Both | Two separate apps | Both merge into one unified app |
Action required:
- Desktop consumer users: download the new app when prompted (rolling out this week)
- Mobile users: update via App Store / Play Store
- Enterprise users: IT handles it, but expect a brief re-auth
Your history moves with you. No manual export needed for chats.
Three Features Disappearing on August 18
This is the urgent part. Microsoft is discontinuing three features entirely. Not moving them. Not hiding them. Gone on August 18, 2026.
1. Copilot Podcasts
What it did: Turned your documents, notes, or topics into AI-generated audio podcasts with two synthetic hosts.
What happens August 18: No new podcasts. No access to existing ones. Gone.
Save your data: Open each podcast you want to keep. Use the download/export option. Save as MP3 locally. Do this before August 18.
2. Deep Research
What it did: Multi-step research agent that browsed dozens of sources and compiled detailed reports.
What happens August 18: Discontinued for everyone except Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers.
Save your data: Existing reports remain accessible after August 18. But you can’t create new ones unless you’re on the Premium tier ($30/user/month on top of 365).
Alternative: Google’s “Gemini Notebook” (formerly NotebookLM) does similar deep research for free. Perplexity, Claude, and ChatGPT all have research modes now.
3. Group Chat Messages
What it did: Let you add Copilot to group chats in Teams/Outlook for collaborative AI assistance.
What happens August 18: Feature removed. All group chat history with Copilot becomes inaccessible.
Save your data: Copy any messages, images, or decisions from Copilot group chats now. Screenshot or copy-paste. After August 18, those chats vanish.
How to Export Your Data Before the Deadline
For Podcasts:
- Open Copilot app or web
- Go to Podcasts section
- Click each podcast → three dots → Download MP3
- Save to local drive or cloud storage
For Deep Research reports:
- Open Copilot → Deep Research history
- Open each report → Export as PDF/Word
- Save locally (reports stay accessible but export anyway)
For Group Chat messages:
- Open Teams/Outlook group chats with Copilot
- Select messages → Copy
- Paste into OneNote, Word, or Notion
- Screenshot important AI responses
Deadline: August 18, 2026. That’s days away.
New App vs Old Apps: Feature Comparison
| Feature | Old Consumer Copilot | Old Microsoft 365 Copilot | New Unified Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chat interface | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| File upload/analysis | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Word/Excel/PowerPoint integration | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Teams meeting recap | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Podcasts | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ (removed) |
| Deep Research | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (Premium only) |
| Group Chat | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ (removed) |
| Copilot in Windows | Separate | Separate | Integrated |
| Account types | Personal | Work/School | Both |
The unified app gains enterprise features for consumer accounts (file analysis, document summarization) but loses the three discontinued features for everyone.
What This Means For Free vs Pro vs Enterprise Users
Free tier (personal Microsoft account):
Gets unified app with chat, file upload, image generation
Loses Podcasts and Deep Research (were free, now gone)
No Group Chat anyway
Net: slight gain (better app), real loss (research tool)
Copilot Pro ($20/mo):
Same as free plus priority access, faster models
Loses Podcasts and Deep Research
No enterprise features (those need 365)
Net: loss of two Pro-tier features
Microsoft 365 Personal/Family:
Gets unified app
No Deep Research (was never included)
No Podcasts (was never included)
Net: neutral
Microsoft 365 Copilot / Enterprise ($30/user/mo + 365):
Gets unified app
No Deep Research (was never included)
No Podcasts (was never included)
Net: neutral
The unified app gains enterprise features for consumer accounts (file analysis, document summarization) but loses the three discontinued features for everyone.
Takeaway: Update Now and Save Your Data
The merge itself is good. One app. Less confusion. But the feature removals are hostile to existing users — especially killing Deep Research for Pro subscribers who paid for it.
Your to-do list today:
- Update Copilot app (desktop and mobile)
- Export all Podcasts as MP3
- Export all Deep Research reports as PDF
- Copy all Group Chat messages with Copilot
- Done
Microsoft gave you a week’s notice for features people built workflows around. That’s the real story. The merge is just the wrapper.
Don’t lose your work to a product decision. Export now.
