Microsoft replaced Designer in Teams with Copilot — because apparently Copilot needs every job

Remember Microsoft Designer? The AI-powered tool has the capability of creating social media posts, invitations, digital postcards, graphics, and more. It shipped to broad availability across web, mobile, and Windows 11 in 2024.

Microsoft integrated Designer into its Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps, including Teams, to facilitate easier generation of images and designs within the user's workflow.

However, the software giant is getting ready pull the plug on the Designer bot and Designer banners in Microsoft Teams as soon as tomorrow (Friday, February 27, 2026), as highlighted in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under message ID MC1197104 (via Neowin).

The company didn't make this decision out of the blue; it actually began phasing out the feature mid-last month in waves. The rollout of the feature's deprecation should be complete by tomorrow, which means users will no longer be able to install or access the standalone Designer bot in Microsoft Teams.

However, Teams users won't be left high and dry. Microsoft is replacing the Designer bot and Designer banners in Microsoft Teams with Copilot in Teams. This move could be an attempt to get more users to use its virtual AI assistant while simultaneously bolstering productivity by allowing users to get a wide range of tasks done in a unified location. Ultimately, promoting efficiency and effectiveness.

As you may know, Microsoft Designer is powered by Microsoft's AI models and integrations with OpenAI’s DALL·E image generation system, while Copilot runs on OpenAI's latest image generation technology — GPT-4o. It will be interesting to see how the change impacts productivity in Microsoft Teams.

💬 How do you feel about Microsoft replacing Designer with Copilot in Teams?

Over the past few weeks, multiple reports have emerged claiming that virtually no one is using Copilot, though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella indicated that Copilot AI usage has surged, growing nearly 3x year-over-year.

However, a separate report suggested that only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users who interact with Copilot Chat actually pay for it despite the company's massive $37.5 billion on its AI-themed efforts in the last quarter.

This could just be another unique play by Microsoft to grow Copilot's user base.

Share your thoughts with me about the change in the comments.

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