An internal memo reveals Microsoft is stripping back Copilot to focus on "real work," combining consumer and enterprise apps into one and adding background-task agents.

Microsoft plans to release a heavily rebuilt version of Copilot in August that merges its consumer and enterprise apps into a single product and introduces new AI agents called “AutoPilot,” according to an internal memo seen by The Information [1].

The move matters for developers and business buyers because it signals Microsoft is betting that bundled, outcome-focused tooling — rather than a standalone chatbot — is what justifies the cost of enterprise AI [1].

What’s changing inside Copilot

Executive Vice President Jacob Andreou authored the memo, writing that the team “stripped out what wasn’t working,” naming Copilot Podcasts and Copilot Labs as features being cut [1]. Andreou framed the new direction around practical results: Copilot should focus on “real work” instead of chasing intelligence “for intelligence’s sake,” and must be “optimized for outcomes,” he wrote [1]. In pointed language, he added that the app has to “earn the right to exist” [1].

The rebuilt app will include AI coding tools alongside the AutoPilot agents, which are designed to handle background tasks such as scheduling and email summaries [1]. Microsoft will charge extra for those added features, according to the memo [1].

A broader push beyond the chatbot

The Copilot overhaul is not Microsoft’s only move this week. The company also announced a new unit in which Microsoft engineers will work directly inside client departments to embed AI into business workflows, The Decoder reported [1]. That step is, as The Decoder noted, an acknowledgment that a chatbot alone delivers limited — or hard-to-measure — value [1].

Microsoft is not alone in pursuing what The Decoder describes as an AI “super app.” Anthropic, with Claude Code, and OpenAI, with Codex, are working on comparable all-in-one products, the outlet reported [1]. All three companies are still under pressure to demonstrate returns on their substantial AI infrastructure spending [1].

The revamped Copilot is reportedly targeted for an August release [1].

Sources

  1. The Decoder — Microsoft follows Anthropic and OpenAI into the AI super app race with overhauled Copilot and AutoPilot agents

This article was drafted with AI from the cited sources and checked against them before publication. Spot an error? Let us know.