Microsoft slaps new coat of paint on Copilot, buries annoying button

Microsoft has rearranged the Copilot deckchairs once more, with a redesign, user interface tweaks, and greater integration into its productivity suite. The idea is to boost usage and allow users to deploy longer prompts with ease. The latest update is to the Copilot app for Microsoft 365, which the software biz claims now loads "more than twice as fast" and has response times for complex chat prompts "improved by 10%." The biggest change, other than a fresh lick of paint to the user interface, is the prompt line, which, according to Microsoft, is no longer a simple text box, but "a task-aware workspace." The plan is that as the user types, Copilot can show appropriate options. Jon Friedman, Chief Design Officer at Microsoft, wrote, "The prompt surface can expand to fill the experience, making room for deeper work: pasting content, retaining structure, and using inline formatting before sending. "Rather than presenting every path at once, this design organizes what matters first and reveals more capability in context, making the experience easier to navigate, understand, and trust over time." He added: "For the next wave of Copilot design, we stepped back, simplified, and reworked key parts of the experience to meet your needs with more craft, intention, and speed." This meeting of the customer's needs included the infamous floating Copilot button or, as Microsoft put it, "A consistent entry point across apps that sits above your work and understands the context beneath it." The user reaction to the Copilot button, particularly in Excel, could be charitably described as a little negative. Microsoft did, however, pay attention to customer disquiet and add an option to move the button back to the ribbon. One user said, "Putting a button over the working content was not a good move by Microsoft." Still, the design tweaks suggest a change of heart within Microsoft, and a shift toward making the assistant's entry points more thoughtful rather than the scattergun approach adopted in the past. Friedman said, "Rather than scattering touchpoints across the interface, it anchors Copilot as one connected system across Microsoft 365, surfacing relevant actions that help you stay in flow." So Copilot is most definitely not going anywhere, but Microsoft appears to have learned that using a virtual megaphone in the form of workflow interference to boast about the assistant's benefits is not the best way to persuade users to take advantage of their AI assistant. Microsoft did, however, brag about an increase in Copilot usage since the new in-app experiences were rolled out. "Copilot usage has increased by 27% in Word, 33% in Excel, 43% in PowerPoint, and 30% in Outlook," said Friedman. Impressive statistics, but utterly meaningless without the data behind them. The comparison for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, for example, compared activity from May 8 - 12, 2026 (after roll-out) to May 1 - 5, 2026 (before roll-out). Microsoft also cautioned, "Results reflect short-term changes observed during these timeframes and may not be indicative of long-term usage trends." Oh dear. (R)