Microsoft merges Copilot apps before August 18

Microsoft is folding its personal Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot apps into one updated experience, while three consumer features—Group Chat, Podcasts, and Deep Research—are scheduled to disappear after August 18, 2026. Microsoft’s migration guide says work and personal accounts remain separate, but tells users to copy Group Chat material and download Podcasts before the cutoff. The practical signal for teams is that assistant consolidation can also be a data-retention event; the Copilot trial scorecard is a useful reminder to inventory features before a vendor migration.