Microsoft 365 Copilot gets a faster, cleaner redesign with 'progressive disclosure' interface
Microsoft published a redesigned version of its enterprise AI assistant Microsoft 365 Copilot on 28 May. According to The Verge, the new build has a cleaner design that loads twice as fast as the previous version. Microsoft says Copilot's responses will be more reliable and structured, and that users will be able to scan responses more easily.
Microsoft's 365 Copilot General Manager Jared Spataro told The Verge, 'The new design was made based on user feedback. In the previous version, users reported being confronted with too many tools and options. We therefore adopted a 'progressive disclosure' approach.' Progressive disclosure is a user interface design method that presents the necessary tools and controls one at a time according to the user's prompt.
The new design is rolling out across desktop and mobile devices. According to The Verge, users can format their text directly inside Copilot's revamped prompt box. The prompt box expands with each command to fit the content. Verge editor Tom Warren said, 'This resembles the design approach of competitors such as OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Gemini Omni, but Microsoft's enterprise focus is stronger.'
Microsoft 365 Copilot's enterprise subscription pricing starts at 30 dollars per user per month. The company announced that as of May 2026 it has 22 million 365 Copilot subscribers. That figure represents a 57 percent increase over the 14 million subscribers in September 2025.
Enterprise software analyst Wayne Kurtzman of IDC told The Verge, 'Microsoft's Copilot user experience design relates directly to whether the product really contributes to enterprise productivity. The new design adopts a less 'AI noise' and a clearer 'action'-oriented approach.' Kurtzman said that 64 percent of enterprise users said they were 'somewhat' or 'very' satisfied with the current version of Copilot.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, at the company's annual conference Microsoft Build 2026, emphasised the priority of AI-based productivity tools. 'Microsoft 365 Copilot is central to our mission of automating enterprise employees' daily routine tasks with AI. By 2027 we aim for every Office 365 user to be a Copilot user,' he said.
According to The Verge's analysis, the new design's speed improvement was made possible by Microsoft's recent updates to its Azure AI infrastructure. Azure AI servers cost 14 billion dollars per year, while Microsoft 365 Copilot's annual revenue target was set at 8 billion dollars. These figures indicate that AI infrastructure cost may pose a profitability challenge for Microsoft.
The launch of Google's Gemini Omni model in May has a direct impact on Microsoft 365 Copilot's competitive position. Gemini Omni is regarded as ahead of Copilot in multimodal capabilities, but Google's enterprise customer base is narrower than Microsoft's. The two companies' AI strategies are therefore directed at different segments.
Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8 and OpenAI's GPT models also compete with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Although Microsoft does not hide that Copilot is built on OpenAI, it said that its own Phi models are taking an increasing role inside Copilot. This reflects Microsoft's effort to reduce a single-source dependency on OpenAI.
This article is a technology news report and should not be read as investment or business decision advice on companies such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Google or Anthropic.