Microsoft 365 Copilot: Updates to the Researcher experience

Microsoft 365 Copilot is updating Researcher to use shared Copilot components, retiring specific controls and tabs by December 30, 2026. Core research functions remain, but users must adapt to new navigation. No admin action is needed; admins should update documentation and inform users.

[What and why]

We are updating Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot to use shared Copilot platform components. This modernization will provide a more consistent Copilot experience across Microsoft 365 while reducing duplicate navigation and management experiences.

As part of this update, several Researcher-specific controls and navigation areas will be retired and replaced with equivalent capabilities available through shared Microsoft Copilot experiences. Researcher's core capabilities for conducting research and generating reports will remain available.

[Rollout schedule]

• Retirement: (Worldwide, GCC, and GCC High): Beginning on October 21, 2026 and expected to complete on December 30, 2026
• The rollout will occur gradually. Users within the same organization may receive the updated experience at different times.

[Impact on your organization]

Who is affected

• Users who use Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot, particularly those who currently use Researcher-specific tabs and report-length controls
• Licensing: Microsoft 365 Copilot license required

Platforms and services

• Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Researcher

What will happen

The following Researcher experiences will be retired as part of this update:

Current experience	Change	Replacement experience
Report Length Control	Retired	Researcher will automatically determine an appropriate report length.
Saved Prompts tab	Retired	Prompt-saving capabilities will be available through shared Copilot prompt experiences.
History tab	Retired	Users can access previous Researcher conversations through Copilot conversation history and navigation experiences.
Reports tab	Retired	Status tracking and report management will move to shared experiences such as Task Hub.
Explore tab and Recommended Prompts	Retired	Prompt discovery and recommendations will be available through broader Copilot experiences.

Additional impacts:

• Researcher's core research and report-generation capabilities will remain available.
• Users may need to adjust established workflows because certain controls and tabs will no longer appear in their current locations.
• No admin configuration changes are required.
• The update is enabled as part of the service update and does not require tenant opt in.

[Action required and recommendations]

No action is required.

We recommend that administrators:

• Review the Researcher navigation changes and retired experiences.
• Update internal documentation, training content, and help desk materials that reference the current Researcher interface.
• Inform users who regularly use Researcher-specific tabs and report-length controls about the upcoming changes.
• Share updated navigation guidance with users when available.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.