No, Microsoft didn’t rebrand Office to Microsoft 365 Copilot

Source: The Verge

Summary

Microsoft has got the internet confused, again. Over the past couple of days posts on Reddit, Hacker News, and X have claimed Microsoft has rebranded Microsoft Office to Microsoft 365 Copilot. As much as Microsoft loves to shove its Copilot branding everywhere, Office hasn’t been renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot.”

The rumor appears to stem from a misunderstanding of Microsoft’s recent announcements about integrating Copilot AI features across its Microsoft 365 suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. While the AI‑driven Copilot is being rolled out as a new layer of functionality, the core Office applications retain their traditional names.

What’s actually happening?

• Copilot integration: Microsoft is embedding AI assistance directly into Office apps, allowing users to generate text, create data visualizations, draft emails, and more via natural‑language prompts.
• Branding: The “Microsoft 365 Copilot” label refers to the AI feature set, not a wholesale rebrand of the Office suite itself.
• Availability: The feature is being rolled out to Microsoft 365 commercial customers on a phased basis, with broader availability expected later in the year.

Why the confusion?

• Social media speculation: Early screenshots and blog posts highlighting the new Copilot UI were shared without clear context, leading some to assume a name change.
• Naming overlap: Microsoft’s marketing materials sometimes use “Microsoft 365 Copilot” interchangeably with “Copilot for Microsoft 365,” which can be ambiguous for casual readers.

Bottom line

Microsoft Office remains Office. The company is simply adding a powerful AI assistant—Copilot—to its existing suite, and the “Microsoft 365 Copilot” moniker describes that AI layer, not a new product name.