Microsoft is adding Office document creation to its Copilot app. Users can prompt Copilot to generate a Word document, edit it in the corresponding Office application, and keep the Copilot conversation going. The document can be shared with other users, who can also use Copilot to modify it. However, the feature depends on OneDrive rather than SharePoint, which may put off some enterprise customers. It is currently rolling out only to Frontier customers in Chat and Cowork.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is retiring "Themes by Copilot" in Outlook less than two years after introducing it. The feature generated dynamic AI themes based on location and weather. Microsoft says it will be removed from Settings; users who have applied a theme can keep it until they change it, after which they cannot return. The reason for the retirement is unclear, with possible explanations including low usage or administrators disliking that users could override the corporate appearance.
The contrast highlights a pattern: Microsoft is quick to promote Copilot features but also quick to drop them when attention shifts. The Office integration may make for impressive demonstrations, but it will need to prove its worth to avoid the same fate as the Outlook themes feature.