Microsoft is constantly coming up with new creative ways to integrate Copilot into every bit of its services. This time, it’s adding a new Edge feature that will automatically open the Copilot side pane whenever you click a link from Outlook.
The idea here is to allow users to “get more value from Copilot while extending productive browsing time in Edge.” You get an email with a link, you click it, and instead of just loading the page, Edge opens Copilot alongside it. Copilot then highlights key points and offers actionable suggestions, like scheduling a follow-up or drafting a reply, or just summarizes what’s on that particular page.
The company announced this feature today on the new Microsoft 365 roadmap page. The rollout is scheduled to begin in May and is listed as “General availability,” so it should roll out to most users (personal and business) without special licensing beyond what"s needed for Copilot access.
Microsoft already introduced a more primitive Outlook context pane that automatically shows up when you open email links in Edge back in 2023, and has since been expanding Copilot"s reach across Office documents and YouTube. Now that section of the browser will get “smarter” with new AI capabilities. At the moment, the Outlook pane isn’t enabled by default. It will be interesting to see whether Microsoft keeps it that way once Copilot arrives, or whether users who don’t want it will have to go out of their way to disable it in Settings.
New Copilot integrations can hardly be considered news anymore, as they happen on a daily basis. Microsoft clearly wants Copilot in front of as many people as possible, whether they asked for it or not. Copilot was recently declared the best productivity app by Microsoft, so this announcement, which mentions productive browsing time, aligns with that. Whether that aligns with how you actually measure productivity is a different topic.