It’s easy to get confused by things you see online. Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about Microsoft Office changing its name to Microsoft 365 Copilot. However, the name change actually happened last year, and it only affected a specific app – not the entire Office suite. So, what’s behind all the recent buzz?
Let’s quickly recap: Microsoft decided to rename its Microsoft 365 app to “Microsoft 365 Copilot” in January 2025. This was actually the app’s second name change – it was originally known as “Microsoft Office” for many years before becoming Microsoft 365.
The new name feels clunky and doesn’t really capture what most people think of when they think of Microsoft. Even though Microsoft 365 now offers Copilot and other features, many users still mainly see it as the place to find Office apps like Word and Excel.
The situation became even more complicated when people realized the Microsoft 365 Copilot app icon looked too similar to those of other Microsoft applications.
When this change happened, our Executive Editor, Jez Corden, shared his thoughts, and those thoughts are still relevant now.
The decision to redesign Microsoft Office was a mistake, disrespecting its long and successful history. Adding the Copilot branding now is even worse, mirroring the flawed approach of launching Copilot-powered PCs before the technology was truly ready. Copilot hasn’t proven itself worthy of being associated with established, iconic programs like Excel or Word.
James Corden is right to speak out. Microsoft’s intense focus on artificial intelligence is negatively impacting regular users. The nickname “Microslop” is currently popular online after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized people for using that term to describe their AI work.
TIME magazine didn’t recognize any Microsoft leaders as influential figures, which hints that the public doesn’t currently see Microsoft as a leader in artificial intelligence. They’re also falling behind rivals like Google in this rapidly evolving field.
The main difference between James Corden’s remarks and those seen online recently is that Corden spoke when the news was first announced.
I’m not sure if this was the very first mention, but this seems to be one of the earliest posts to gain attention about the Microsoft 365 Copilot rebrand this week. (Please excuse any informal language.)
Okay, so that information going around *is* accurate, but it’s missing some important details. The change actually happened about a year ago, and it wasn’t about Microsoft Office at all – it was a rebrand of one of their apps. Microsoft still uses the term ‘Microsoft Office’ themselves! Once people realized that, there was a big wave of corrections, and I even saw a Reddit post about it get taken down because of all the confusion.
I’m not a fan of Microsoft’s recent changes. It seems like they’re overly focused on AI, and I believe, like Steven Sinofsky points out, the rebrand was mainly to boost numbers for their Copilot AI assistant.
I just think people should know the change is almost 12 months old at this point.
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2026-01-06 16:09