Microsoft consolidates Copilot apps and discontinues unsuccessful AI features

Microsoft announced consolidation of its consumer and business Copilot applications into a single experience, while also discontinuing several experimental AI features deemed unsuccessful. Users will lose access to Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs, and Deep Research by August 18, 2026, though paid professional users will receive Researcher as an alternative. The company will also remove the animated Mico character, a floating blob resembling an AI-ified version of Clippy. The move acknowledges that the prior strategy was too complicated to make Copilot a viable competitor to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, aligning with similar consolidations across the industry where Claude merged Cowork and OpenAI integrated Operator into ChatGPT.