While Microsoft made the "new" Outlook app for Windows generally available in September 2023, many people still use the older "classic" Outlook email app. Today, Microsoft confirmed that a major feature in the new Outlook Windows app, the Copilot generative AI assistant, has been rolling out to the classic Outlook Windows app as well over the past few months.
In a blog post, Microsoft stated that the current Copilot features that are available for the classic Outlook for Windows app include Summarize, which can offer a quick summary of the emails in a long thread of replies. It's available via the new “Summarize” button in the top right corner when you open an email.
Other Copilot features in the classic Outlook app include Coaching, which offers tips on how to write a better email, and Draft, which can create a full email message with just a few text prompts that can be edited later.
Sometime later in June, Microsoft will also add the Copilot for Microsoft 365 chat experience to the classic Outlook app for the Current Channel users, followed by people on the Monthly Enterprise Channel sometime in August. Microsoft stated:
Copilot in Outlook allows you to draft emails, ask questions, summarize multiple email conversations, and connect across your enterprise data including chats, documents, meetings, and emails without leaving Outlook.
Microsoft says it does plan to add more Copilot features to the classic Outlook Windows app in the future. Those features will still appear first in the new Outlook for Windows app, along with the web Outlook app, followed by the Mac Outlook app and Outlook for mobile devices. Microsoft says the classic Outlook for Windows app should get the new Copilot features about 3 to 12 months after the other Outlook apps add them, depending on the feature.
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