Microsoft this week cautioned IT admins and sysadmins about an upcoming "major change" to Office apps such that some of the features there would stop working after a deadline. The message was posted on the Microsoft 365 admin center portal.
Speaking of Microsoft 365, the company is also working on a UI (user interface) revision related to the Teams and Outlook apps, according to a couple of new entries on its Microsoft 365 Roadmap website.
This "updated UI" is for the Copilot Chat navigation pane on Outlook and Teams, and the company says that the change is meant to "offer a more intuitive layout" for users while also "ensuring continuity in user experience" (UX). Microsoft says that it has been able to achieve this simply by repositioning the navigation pane from the right to the left, but there is probably more than that.
For those who need a refresher, Microsoft began rolling out the feature back in January, early this year, after announcing the full details a week prior.
Aside from that, some new features are also coming to Copilot Chat. Microsoft in its roadmap entry describes the feature in some detail, although currently you can only sort of visualize in your mind how the updated UI will look.
In the entry, the tech giant writes:
Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft 365): Updated UI for Copilot Chat Navigation Pane in Outlook/Teams
The navigation pane has been repositioned from the right side to the left, offering a more intuitive layout. Despite the shift, it continues to host agents and conversation history, ensuring continuity in user experience. This redesign introduces new features, including access to the "All Conversations" page, which provides a comprehensive view of chat history. The change aims to enhance usability and streamline navigation within Copilot Chat.
You can find the M365 roadmap entries for Outlook and Teams at the following links on Microsoft"s website: 499149, 499148.
Although this UI update is something that will probably prove to be helpful for many users, especially those who regularly use AI in their workflow, many others would probably be left wanting more in terms of UI and UX changes, also considering how some of the functionality improvements are getting delayed too.
This also shows how a lot of Microsoft"s development focus now is going towards Copilot and other AI feature additions, as nearly every single app or feature is getting filled to the brim with AI features and functionalities. The company seems quite pedantic with Copilot, as even small improvements like these are getting a lot of attention and focus from the dev team.