Microsoft pulls Edge 123 from the Stable Channel with its 'Microsoft Copilot' app

A Microsoft Edge logo

Update March 27: Edge 123 is once again available in the Stable Channel. It still installs the "Microsoft Copilot" app.

Earlier this week, Microsoft released Edge 123 in the Stable Channel. On the surface, it appeared to be a regular update without anything major or groundbreaking—just a bunch of enterprise features and lots of fixes. However, the update turned out to be an odd one, and Microsoft pulled it out.

Right after installing Edge version 123.0.2420.53, users, including Neowin, noticed that the list of installed apps in Settings received a mysterious 8KB "Microsoft Copilot" entry. Checking another machine added to the suspicion that the unknown program arrived alongside the latest Microsoft Edge update (there is no Copilot app in the Microsoft Store).

The Settings app in Windows 11 with the Copilot app in it

Neowin reached out to Microsoft for comment, and the company told us that the program is intended to power the new Copilot experiences. None of those features are available in the Stable Channel, so seeing the unannounced app arrive with a stable Microsoft Edge update was quite odd. German blog Deskmodder spotted the same on their Release Preview machines.

It is possible that Microsoft accidentally shipped the app to all users and then had to revoke Edge 123 to fix the misfired release. As of writing this article, Microsoft Edge and its official website say version 122.0.2365.92 is the latest stable version. Interestingly, this is the second time Microsoft has pulled out an Edge update. A few weeks ago, the company called off an update after it broke websites with the "Out of memory" error.

If you are already on Microsoft Edge 123, you can check whether your system has the mysterious Copilot app by heading to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps. Uninstalling the app does not affect the ability to use Copilot in Windows 11, but Microsoft said it should be there for Copilot's new features.

Update March 26: A Microsoft spokesperson said the update was paused to ensure compatibility with certain enterprise configurations:

The rollout for Microsoft Edge 123 was paused to ensure compatibility with certain enterprise configurations related to storage of user profile data. It was not related to Microsoft Copilot. We plan to resume the rollout of Edge 123 as soon as March 27, 2024.