Microsoft is retiring Group Chat, Podcasts, Copilot Labs and consumer Deep Research from Copilot on 18 August, and its mascot Mico is being demoted from the voice experience into a tutoring role in Learn Live. The moves come as Microsoft merges its consumer and Microsoft 365 Copilot apps under one name, driven by new AI leader Jacob Andreou who wants every feature to earn 'the right to exist.' Microsoft 365 Copilot has 30 million paid seats, but the consumer app has only about 38.5 million monthly users against ChatGPT's roughly a billion, and just 3.3% of Copilot users pay. A 'super app' combining chat, coding, Cowork and Autopilot is expected by the end of Q3, while a UK competition probe into Microsoft 365 Copilot bundling remains open.
Table of contents
Ten months from launch to demotionIt joins a long queueThe strategy changed, and the blob was downstream of itThe numbers explain the urgencyWhat actually changes for youThe merge is a step, not the destinationWhat would settle itQuestions this post answers
Which Microsoft Copilot features are being removed on August 18, 2026?
Group Chat, Podcasts, Copilot Labs and consumer Deep Research all retire on 18 August 2026. Group Chat threads, messages and images will not transfer, so users need to copy content into a document beforehand. Podcasts can be downloaded individually before the deadline, and Deep Research is replaced for paid professional users by a new tool called Researcher. Track which AI assistant features get cut or replaced by following Copilot coverage on daily.dev.
What happened to Microsoft's Mico AI mascot?
Mico, launched in October 2025 as part of the Copilot Fall Release, has been moved out of the Copilot voice experience and into Learn Live as a tutoring character. Any custom Mico settings built in voice mode do not carry over. Microsoft framed the change as Mico finding room to grow in education rather than admitting the feature underperformed. Developers weighing AI personality features against real usage data can follow these shifts on daily.dev.
How many users does Microsoft Copilot have compared to ChatGPT and Gemini?
Microsoft 365 Copilot had 30 million paid seats as of July 2026, while the consumer Copilot app has roughly 38.5 million monthly users according to Sensor Tower estimates. That compares to ChatGPT's roughly a billion monthly users and Gemini's billion monthly users. Only 3.3% of Copilot users paid for the product before Microsoft made it optional. Anyone evaluating AI assistant adoption trends can keep tabs on the numbers behind these tools via daily.dev.