Microsoft Is Removing Outlook's Copilot Themes, and Users Can't Go Back

Microsoft is retiring the Themes by Copilot feature in Outlook, removing the ability to create and select AI-generated themes. The company confirmed the change in MC1492954 in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, with the removal scheduled to begin in mid-October 2026.

Themes by Copilot allows users to personalize Outlook with AI-generated themes. Once Microsoft removes the feature from Outlook’s Settings, users will no longer be able to create or select these themes.

The change affects users with Copilot licenses across New Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, Outlook on the web, and the Android and iOS apps. Microsoft has not explained why it is discontinuing the feature.

Existing Copilot themes will remain, but there’s a catch

Microsoft will allow users to keep their existing Copilot-generated themes after the feature disappears. However, once they switch to a regular Outlook theme, they will permanently lose the ability to return to their previous Copilot theme.

Users who configured their themes to refresh automatically will also lose that functionality. Their current theme images will remain unchanged until they manually select another theme.

Anyone who wants to keep a Copilot-generated theme should apply it before Microsoft removes the feature and avoid switching to another theme afterward.

Microsoft plans to start the removal in mid-October 2026 and complete it by late October. The change will happen automatically, and administrators won’t need to take any action.

In other Microsoft 365 news, Microsoft 365 Copilot will automatically apply strict security labels to audio summaries, while Microsoft has finally revived Send Availability in Outlook to simplify meeting scheduling. Meanwhile, New Outlook is now generally available for GCC High and DoD environments.

Via Neowin