Microsoft employees are ‘unhappy’ with this ‘major’ Copilot update under new AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman: “Absolutely ruined…”

Microsoft‘s recent update to its consumer-facing Copilot AI assistant has encountered criticism from both users and staffsaid a report. It added that testers raised questions about the effectiveness of the refresh, which was led by Mustafa Suleymanthe former co-founder of DeepMind, hired to lead Microsoft’s consumer AI efforts.
On October 1, Microsoft released a major update that Suleyman said is “an AI companion for everyone” that offers a more intuitive design and more digestible, fast and fluid responses. It was touted as a major step towards a more conversational and helpful AI companion.

What Microsoft employees have to say about the ‘update’

On Blind, a private message board for verified employees, Microsoft employees expressed their disappointment, according to a report from Business Insider.
While some employees and users said the new version is worse than the previous version, another commented: “Absolutely screwed up.”
“The new Second pilot is a step backwards,” wrote another person in the Microsoft group on Blind, while a third added: “The new Copilot update is bad.”

What problems are reported

Users complain about several issues, including freezing, slow response times, less informative results, and the removal of features such as real-time information and the ability to delete old conversations.
Some users also expressed dissatisfaction with the shift to an ‘AI companion’ approach, preferring a more functional tool.
In the app stores, one of the users said that the Copilot was “so good before updating to this version.” Another said the Copilot app is “dumb and less functional”; “Why release such a great app and then update it to what it is today?” wrote a third reviewer, according to the report.
There was one positive review that complimented the app’s new user interface for being “designed for general users.”
“Today you see the first tentative steps in this direction, with a focus on creating a simpler, calmer experience and giving everyone access to new Voice capabilities that unlock a new way of communicating with AI that is much more natural and fun ,” said Kumar, general manager of Microsoft.
However, users seemed unimpressed by the move, saying they “want a tool” and “not a friend.”