Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella drew laughter from employees during a recent all-hands meeting when addressing concerns about the company's confusing array of Copilot products, a report has said. The CEO suggests “a billion users of each” app would solve the branding problem as employees raise customer confusion concerns.
Citing an audio from the internal town hall, Business Insider reported that when an employee asked how Microsoft plans to clarify its multiple Copilot offerings for customers, Nadella offered a tongue-in-cheek solution.
“The one way to make it less confusing is to have a billion users of each,” he said, drawing laughter from the employees in attendance.
He quickly added a more serious response: “Quite honestly, the best answer to a lot of the confusion is just daily usage, right?”
What is Microsoft’s ‘Copilot’ problem
The employee’s question highlighted a concern within Microsoft. The company currently has two different Copilot apps available in mobile app stores: a consumer version built by Microsoft AI and a rebranded Microsoft Office app also called Copilot.
Both apps open to similar-looking chat interfaces, the employee noted, making it difficult for average users to distinguish that one includes integrated Word, Excel and PowerPoint functionality while the other does not.
Nadella argued that context should ultimately resolve the confusion, pointing to GitHub Copilot as an example of a product where users understand its specific purpose.
“If you think about it, we have one other Copilot, which is GitHub Copilot. No one is confused about the context of GitHub Copilot," Nadella said.
He also noted that customers have already learned to switch between personal Microsoft accounts (MSA) and separate work or school accounts, internally referred to as Entra IDs.
“That said, I think you're right,” Nadella acknowledged, adding, “We do need to ensure that our marketing approach and our branding approach conveys this.”
Microsoft's strategy moving forward
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer, told employees that the combined Copilot products already have 100 million monthly active users. He emphasised that ensuring both tools work consistently is critical to providing a coherent experience when customers switch between apps.
Microsoft is also taking a more deliberate approach to promoting each version, Mehdi said. He is coordinating with Mustafa Suleyman, who leads the consumer Copilot, and Rajesh Jha, who oversees the Microsoft 365 version, to determine which Copilot gets featured in different contexts.
Citing an audio from the internal town hall, Business Insider reported that when an employee asked how Microsoft plans to clarify its multiple Copilot offerings for customers, Nadella offered a tongue-in-cheek solution.
“The one way to make it less confusing is to have a billion users of each,” he said, drawing laughter from the employees in attendance.
He quickly added a more serious response: “Quite honestly, the best answer to a lot of the confusion is just daily usage, right?”
What is Microsoft’s ‘Copilot’ problem
The employee’s question highlighted a concern within Microsoft. The company currently has two different Copilot apps available in mobile app stores: a consumer version built by Microsoft AI and a rebranded Microsoft Office app also called Copilot.
Both apps open to similar-looking chat interfaces, the employee noted, making it difficult for average users to distinguish that one includes integrated Word, Excel and PowerPoint functionality while the other does not.
Nadella argued that context should ultimately resolve the confusion, pointing to GitHub Copilot as an example of a product where users understand its specific purpose.
“If you think about it, we have one other Copilot, which is GitHub Copilot. No one is confused about the context of GitHub Copilot," Nadella said.
He also noted that customers have already learned to switch between personal Microsoft accounts (MSA) and separate work or school accounts, internally referred to as Entra IDs.
“That said, I think you're right,” Nadella acknowledged, adding, “We do need to ensure that our marketing approach and our branding approach conveys this.”
Microsoft's strategy moving forward
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer, told employees that the combined Copilot products already have 100 million monthly active users. He emphasised that ensuring both tools work consistently is critical to providing a coherent experience when customers switch between apps.
Microsoft is also taking a more deliberate approach to promoting each version, Mehdi said. He is coordinating with Mustafa Suleyman, who leads the consumer Copilot, and Rajesh Jha, who oversees the Microsoft 365 version, to determine which Copilot gets featured in different contexts.
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