Short Version
Microsoft is updating the Microsoft 365 Copilot app (web and desktop) with a cleaner, more chat-centred experience — simplified chat and response layouts, streamlined navigation with a new pinned section and Tasks tab, a single “Work IQ” grounding toggle, and clearer agent details. Available behind an opt-in toggle from June 2026, on by default from July 2026.
Details
Microsoft is introducing updates to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app that deliver a more streamlined, chat-centred experience — simplifying the chat and response layout, improving navigation, and adding new ways to organise work. Throughout the app, experiences have a cleaner look with simplified headers and text input. Key changes:
Streamlined navigation:
- A new pinned section in the navigation pane for frequently used agents, apps, and Copilot experiences (Notebooks, Microsoft 365 apps, chat conversations, and so on).
- The app launcher (1) moves to the waffle menu in the top right of the expanded navigation pane (Create, Notebooks, Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and custom apps):
- The agents section becomes a flyout menu (1B) showing pinned and recently used agents, with access to the agent store and agent builder:
- A new Tasks tab gives a consolidated view of long-running Copilot activity, including scheduled chats and agent activity.
- You can collapse the navigation pane using the icon in its top-left corner (2):
Chat updates:
- Work and web grounding controls are consolidated into a single “Work IQ” toggle in the upper-left of the chat screen (3). Work IQ is on by default and combines enterprise data with web grounding; turning it off switches to web-only grounding (prompt suggestions and the CIQ menu become web-only, and the Sources menu is disabled). Agents continue to work as usual:
- A richer prompting canvas preserves formatting when pasting (4), with refreshed prompt suggestions and a streamlined menu for adding content, agents, and images:
- Chat responses have a clearer structure for more scannable information, citations, and more relevant suggested actions:
Agent updates:
- Opening an agent shows where it came from — a profile card of the agent maker and tooltips alongside the organisation name. The chat input’s ghost text includes the agent’s name to show you’re interacting with that agent.
The updates apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) and Copilot Chat (Basic) tenants, for users on the web or desktop.
Availability
Generally available behind an opt-in toggle: June 2026.
Generally available, default on: July 2026.
Source, related links and references
MC1325422.
Image(s): Microsoft.
Read and watch the Microsoft announcement: Introducing a new design for Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft 365 Blog.
Page originally published
30th May 2026, and kept up to date.
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