Microsoft 365 app for mobile, which was one of my favourite apps, is now just a Copilot app that wants you to generate AI images, while hiding the useful Office features. On Android, you can still edit documents, but the iOS app now only lets you preview files and chat with Copilot. If you want to edit Office files on iOS, you need to download standalone apps.
Microsoft 365 app has been around for years. Initially, it was named Office, but later, Microsoft rebranded it to Microsoft 365, and now it’s called Microsoft 365 Copilot. After recent updates, it’s actually living up to its name on Android and iOS. For those unaware, this is what the original Office 365 experience looked like on mobile:
Previously, when you opened Microsoft 365 on mobile, you could view your recent documents, presentations, and other files on the homepage. This includes your local files and those synced to OneDrive. The bottom navigation bar also allowed you to create new documents or presentations from scratch.
Now, when you open the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on mobile, you’ll be greeted by Copilot chat mode. There’s a compose box, which lets you interact with Copilot. We also have small nudges to read the top headlines right within an “Office.” You also get a new ‘upload’ button, but it just sends the file to Copilot.
I’m not the only person who is upset with the Copilotification of the app.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of users on the Play Store have given a single star to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app after this Copilot takeover.
What’s wrong with the new Copilot, a glorified version of the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Android/iOS?
Most of us use Microsoft 365 to create or view Office files, but we’re now being toward AI and “projects.”
By default, Microsoft 365 opens Copilot. To reach documents, you now have to tap through extra steps and use “Search,” which feels backwards. First, you need to open the hamburger menu, then select “Search,” and finally start looking for your document.
Users are unhappy with how Copilot is taking the lead in the Microsoft 365 app. If I want to create an image, a poster or an infographic, I can use the Copilot app. But for some reason, these features are now pushed through the Microsoft 365 office app.
“The app was usable, functional, and effective. Then they “updated” it, and the appearance changed. Now I have to click, click, click to get to the documents I want, which used to be accessible every time I opened the app. Sorry, but not everyone wants to chat with AI, search for what should be right there, or create a project. Miserable fail,” one of the frustrated users explained in a single-star review on the Play Store.
“I absolutely despise how it automatically opens to the Copilot chat every time. I’m using this app so that I can access my files on my phone, not to talk to some robot. Completely inaccessible and frustrating to use, and once I finally do figure out how to get to files, which is under “search” for some reason, it takes at least 15 minutes of syncing time to open anything. I don’t know why I bother,” another user added.
Microsoft 365 Copilot app, designed for Office work, now wants you to generate AI images
In our tests, Windows Latest noticed that Microsoft 365 Copilot now wants you to generate images using AI.
I opened the hamburger menu and selected ‘Create.’ You’d expect the Create button to show Word, PowerPoint or other Office templates, but instead, it opens a gallery of AI-generated images. If you tap on any of these images, you can edit them using prompts or copy the prompt to create your own image.
Thankfully, we still have a handy ‘scan’ option, which invokes Microsoft Lens capabilities. The app also has a ‘Document’ button. This allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint slides. Or you can choose from Office templates. They’re still available, but you need to click on ‘Document’ to view them.
I don’t hate Copilot integration that can summarise documents for me or give me a morning briefing, but do I really need AI slop in an Office app?
