“$10 billion investment in OpenAI, and Copilot sucks compared to ChatGPT”: Microsoft staffers and customers lament Copilot’s warm and inviting update — a “step backward” and “absolutely ruined”

"$10 billion investment in OpenAI, and Copilot sucks compared to ChatGPT": Microsoft staffers and customers lament Copilot's warm and inviting update — a "step backward" and "absolutely ruined"

What you need to know

  • Microsoft Copilot received a major overhaul at the beginning of October, overhauling its user interface and making the chat experience more intuitive.
  • Users have been complaining about the new update. Several Microsoft staffers reportedly share the same sentiments, indicating that it’s a step backward and has “absolutely ruined” Copilot’s user experience.
  • Microsoft has yet to address the issues highlighted through user feedback. Windows Central has reached out for a comment.

As a long-time user and tech enthusiast who has been closely following the evolution of AI assistants, I must say that I’m disheartened by Microsoft’s recent update to Copilot. Having used both Copilot and ChatGPT extensively, I found Copilot to be more intuitive and user-friendly. However, the new update seems to have taken a step backward, ruining the user experience that was once praised.


Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, has undergone a significant upgrade. The latest version boasts a friendly and welcoming user interface and advanced AI capabilities such as Copilot Vision, which allows for web browsing within Edge, and innovative features that seamlessly merge AI and human interaction. To access the majority of these next-generation AI features, you’ll need to subscribe to the $20 per month Copilot Pro plan.

It’s worth noting that contrary to expectations, the recent update aimed at enhancing the user experience has met with varied reactions. Many users have expressed dissatisfaction, highlighting issues such as a poorer user interface, unsatisfactory responses, and other concerns.

Currently, a fresh report from Business Insider indicates that Microsoft employees hold similar opinions about the revamp of Copilot. Leaked conversations on Microsoft’s internal message board suggest that the update has significantly impaired Copilot’s user experience, with one individual stating, “It has absolutely spoiled” the Copilot experience. Another employee expressed a similar view, saying, “The new Copilot represents a step backwards.

A comprehensive examination by Business Insider found that sentiments about Copilot were mirrored in its reviews on Apple’s App Store prior to the recent update. As reported by the outlet, Copilot had an average rating of 4.8 before the new version was released, based on over 100,000 ratings.

Since then, this scorecard has undergone significant changes, particularly following a major update, which significantly altered the platform’s user experience. The publication also mentions that users’ reviews appear to have turned unfavorable, with over 250 one-star reviews left in October alone. One user even commented that the update made Copilot less capable, making it less functional.

It’ll be hard to compete against ChatGPT at this rate

"$10 billion investment in OpenAI, and Copilot sucks compared to ChatGPT": Microsoft staffers and customers lament Copilot's warm and inviting update — a "step backward" and "absolutely ruined"

A separate analysis found that the main criticism leveled against Microsoft’s Copilot in their AI sector is that it doesn’t perform as effectively as ChatGPT, a point that remains contentious. However, Microsoft has firmly denied this claim, stating instead that users may not be utilizing it correctly. They have also suggested that the problem lies in improper prompt engineering techniques. In response to these concerns, Microsoft launched Copilot Academy to address these issues and equip users with the necessary skills to maximize the tool’s potential effectively.

For this purpose, ChatGPT maintains its dominance over Copilot on mobile devices following the release of premium versions such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. This has resulted in a significant surge in income and user downloads.

The ongoing Copilot update has been causing trouble for most users, as they’ve been expressing similar concerns. For example, a user on the r/CopilotPro subreddit of Reddit recently shared their frustrations about the new experience in this forum.

“I’ve discovered that for a Microsoft work account, like a student email, the older version of Copilot will be displayed instead of the new one. Unfortunately, I’m not fond of the latest version as it has removed my chat history and I had some crucial school assignments I was working on.

Copilot “for work” is the older and better version from r/CopilotPro

A different user proposed that Microsoft implement a switch for users to choose between the old and current interfaces. Furthermore, Linux Root User X remarked, “Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI, yet Copilot underperforms compared to ChatGPT,” followed by criticism of the new voice feature as barely functional and a suggestion to reintroduce the Cortana voice.

It’s not yet clear what steps Microsoft is taking to improve or address problems related to the new Copilot experience. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for a statement on this matter.

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2024-10-31 20:09