Two Copilots become
one.
The consumer "Copilot" app and the work-focused "Microsoft 365 Copilot" app — two apps with near-identical names that have lived separately — are merging into a single "Microsoft Copilot" with a refreshed icon. It's the first move in Microsoft's planned "super app".
Ending the "which one do I open"
problem
Copilot has long been split across separate apps by use case, leaving users unsure which one to open for a given task.
The "Copilot" app handling personal chat and image creation, and the "Microsoft 365 Copilot" app tied into Word, Excel and Teams, have sat side by side on the taskbar with near-identical names and icons. Users had to re-decide, every time, which one would actually get them to the task they wanted — a pattern GeekWire also called out in its reporting.
As The Register reported, the consumer Copilot app and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app are merging into a single "Microsoft Copilot," with a new name and a refreshed icon. This isn't a cosmetic UI tweak — it's positioned as the first structural step toward the "super app" Microsoft has said it plans to ship later this year.
| Before (dual-app era) | After (merged) |
|---|---|
| Consumer Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot as separate apps | Combined into a single "Microsoft Copilot" app |
| Similarly-named icons coexisting on the taskbar | Rolled out under one refreshed icon |
| Personal and work accounts on separate screens | Switch between accounts inside one app |
| Roughly two years running two apps in parallel | A step toward the planned "super app" |
Rollout timeline
Per Windows Central, the merged app's rollout begins worldwide on mobile and web from mid-August 2026, with plans to align branding across all platforms, including desktop, going forward. The roughly two years the consumer app spent shipping on its own is itself a measure of how long the decision to merge took.
One shell, two faces
The merged app is designed so a personal account and a work/school account can both sign in and be switched between without leaving the app.
Sign in with a personal account
Chat and image creation and the rest of the old Copilot app's features work exactly as before.
Add a work/school account
Microsoft 365 Copilot's features, tied into Word, Excel and Teams, appear on the same screen.
Switch inside the app
Move between personal and work use without closing or reopening the app.
Who benefits, and how
The payoff differs by role. Business and product leaders feel this merge in different ways.
Business & leadership
Anyone who ran market research or a first draft through the personal Copilot, then switched to Microsoft 365 Copilot only for anything touching company data, loses that app-switching friction entirely. Research and internal-document summarizing now happen in one continuous screen.
Product managers
Having roadmap discussions and the team's group chats live inside the same app is a real gain. But existing group chat history and images disappear after August 18, so saving the threads that matter before migration is a necessary step.
The merge trades a single, unified front for a few features left behind along the way.
Not an unconditional improvement
Group chat threads, messages, and any images created in them become inaccessible after August 18, 2026, and Copilot podcasts — AI-generated audio discussions built from websites or uploaded documents — must be individually downloaded from the podcast library before that date or they're lost. If the merge is a move to a new home, it's the kind where you can't take all the boxes with you.
Separately, GCN reports that the merge arrives alongside a new paid agent tier called "Autopilot". A unified interface arriving at the same time as a new monetization tier is worth weighing apart from the pure usability win. What has actually merged so far is the shell — licensing, pricing, and admin governance for personal versus work use haven't necessarily converged. The full shape of the "super app" Microsoft has previewed is still largely a matter of future announcements.
What to do now
Back up group chats and podcasts
Before August 18, individually download any group chat threads and Copilot podcasts worth keeping.
Test account switching in the merged app
Add both a personal and a work/school account and check early whether it disrupts real workflows.
Weigh whether Autopilot is worth it
Evaluate the new paid tier against whether keeping an agent running on your team's routine work is worth the cost before committing.