Microsoft is Retiring Copilot Deep Research and Podcasts

Microsoft revealed on its Support site that it is retiring Deep Research and Podcasts in the consumer Copilot apps.

“Deep Research is being retired in the Copilot app for consumers starting August 18, 2026,” the Microsoft Support site explains. “Customers who use Deep Research today may see changes to how in-depth research experiences are available within Copilot: Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers can continue creating detailed reports and analyses using Researcher in Copilot, and existing saved research content will remain available.”

Long story short, if you’re an individual using Copilot but not paying, or if you have any subscription other than Microsoft 365 Premium, this feature is going away. If you do have Microsoft 365 Premium, you can continue using the similar Researcher feature. Existing Deep Research reports will still be available and you can export them to Microsoft Word format.

“Podcasts is being retired in the Copilot app for consumers starting on August 18, 2026,” a separate support document explains. “After that date, Podcasts will no longer be available and previously created podcasts will not be accessible.”

So this one is obviously more problematic, though this feature is less essential, as there’s no way to keep or export any podcasts you’ve created.

Both of these changes are great news for me. I am literally rewriting the Copilot chapter for the Windows 11 Field Guide now, and not having to cover these features is wonderful.