Microsoft will merge its consumer and business Copilot products into one in August, The Information reported on July 2.

Microsoft vice president Jacob Andreou (제이콥 안드레우) sent a 1,200-character internal memo to employees outlining the plan. The unified app will include an AI coding tool and a new paid agent, Autopilot.

Autopilot runs in an always-on state and automates repetitive tasks on behalf of customers. Microsoft previously previewed an Autopilot agent called Scout. Scout handles functions such as schedule management and summarising incoming emails.

Andreou said Microsoft has removed features that have not delivered results as part of the integration. It is also discontinuing Copilot Podcasts, which generates podcasts based on websites or documents uploaded by users. It will also shut down Copilot Labs, which includes experimental features.

He stressed in the memo that Copilot must focus on "real work" and move toward being "results-driven." He said it must "earn and protect the right to exist" in customers' lives.

Microsoft shares are down about 20 percent this year. That is the worst performance among the seven large technology stocks. Some large shareholders sold stakes, saying Copilot's quality falls short of competing products.

Paid Copilot users rose to 20,000,000 in April from 15,000,000 in January. That still falls far short compared with more than 50,000,000 paid ChatGPT users. Andreou said, "The bar has been raised across enterprise software," and added, "Microsoft must provide answers not only to what AI can do, but also to how it should be used."