Office users hated the new Copilot button, now Microsoft is changing it

A few days ago, we reported that Microsoft Office customers are not happy at all that the Redmond tech firm has introduced a floating Copilot button in apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft had expanded availability of this UX change earlier this month as a way to "streamline" entry points into its AI experiences. However, the company has now decided to roll back some of these changes in response to consumer backlash.

Microsoft explained that it had rolled out the Copilot Dynamic Action Button in Microsoft 365 apps so that it is more integrated with Copilot and users can easily access it. Although this has resulted in increased engagement with its AI service, Microsoft understands the feedback regarding the intrusive nature of this button.

In order to cater to this feedback, Microsoft will soon be introducing the option to right-click the Copilot button and select the option that moves it back to the ribbon. Customers will also be able to restore the Dynamic Action Button if they click the caret next to the Copilot button and select Move out of ribbon.

Notably, this does not mean that the Dock option is going away. As we noted in our previous coverage, Dock transitions the floating Copilot button to a caret on the side. If you click on it, the Copilot side panel opens and the floating button is restored. However, Microsoft is now updating this behavior so that the docked caret view remains locked throughout your time in a document, rather than restoring the Copilot Dynamic Action Button each time. Microsoft believes that this offers decent flexibility as it allows you to simply move the Copilot button out of the way until you need it.

Microsoft will begin rolling out these updates to Excel, Word, and PowerPoint on the web next week, and desktop updates will likely follow. The company's long-term goal with Copilot is to figure out a way to make it adaptive to your needs in a fairly invisible manner.