Microsoft’s new Copilot chief, Jacob Andreou, has described Copilot as a business productivity tool first, marking a shift away from the personal-companion vision previously promoted by Mustafa Suleyman. The change matters to users too: Microsoft has merged its business and consumer Copilot apps and removed features including the Mico avatar and the ability to change Windows settings.
Microsoft AI Watch analysis
What happened
PCMag UK’s live coverage of Microsoft’s 7 October Surface and Windows event says Andreou described Copilot as a business-focused productivity tool that some people may choose to use at home, rather than a product designed for home use. The article cites a report by The Verge for Andreou’s remarks.
The same article says Microsoft has already combined the business and consumer Copilot apps and dropped several consumer-oriented features. Suleyman, now leading Microsoft AI, had previously presented Copilot as a personal companion. That is a real change in emphasis, even if Microsoft has not supplied a neat label saying, “new strategy begins here”.
Why it matters
A shift in product language can sound like boardroom weather, but removing the ability to change Windows settings is a concrete change for people who used Copilot as a way to interact with their PC. The move also raises a useful question about who Microsoft wants Copilot to serve: businesses buying productivity software, or individual users looking for a more personal assistant.
The article places the remarks alongside Microsoft’s broader Windows announcements, but the Copilot positioning is its own story. It does not establish that every consumer use is being abandoned; it does show a narrower public pitch and the removal of specific features.
Our read
Microsoft appears to be choosing usefulness at work over the grander promise of an AI companion that knows you intimately. That may make the product easier to explain and sell to businesses. It also means consumers should judge Copilot by what it can do now, not by yesterday’s vision of an AI roommate with a permanent identity. We’d like to see Microsoft spell out which consumer features it plans to keep, restore or retire.
What to watch
- Whether Microsoft publishes a clearer account of Copilot’s intended audience and product direction.
- Whether the removed consumer features return in another form or are dropped permanently.
- Whether future Windows updates give users useful alternatives for the settings controls Copilot lost.
Discussion spark: Should Microsoft prioritise Copilot as a focused work tool, or keep investing in a more personal assistant for everyday users?
Sources and evidence
- The Microsoft Event Is Here: New Surface Hardware and the Next Era of Windows AI – PCMag UK (7 October 2026, 14:00 UTC)
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