Microsoft kills Deep Research, AI podcasts, Group Chats and Mico by August 18, merging consumer and 365 Copilot into one app

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Microsoft is discontinuing Group Chats, AI-generated podcasts, Copilot Labs experiments, Deep Research, and the animated Mico character for consumers by August 18, 2026, while merging the consumer Copilot app with the business-oriented Microsoft 365 Copilot app. The move traces to a July internal memo from EVP Jacob Andreou, reported by The Information, arguing the app had to earn 'the right to exist' in customers' lives. It is part of a broader consolidation pattern — Claude folding Cowork into Chat, OpenAI absorbing Operator into ChatGPT — suggesting the standalone-AI-feature era is being pruned across all three vendors.