Microsoft plans to retire Outlook's Prioritize My Inbox

Microsoft plans to retire Prioritize My Inbox, an Outlook feature that uses Copilot to organise email. Windows Central says the feature will be removed from all Outlook clients as part of a "cleanup effort" and that Microsoft explained the change in its Microsoft 365 Message Center. DrWindows.de, citing a notice in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, says the removal starts next week.

The feature uses Copilot to study how a person works and to show the emails that matter most, based on past behaviour. Users can adjust what appears with filters, and they can add a personalised prompt with an example of a high-priority email. Windows Central calls it adaptive and context-aware, and says it works differently from Focused Inbox. DrWindows.de describes it more simply: incoming mail is given a priority automatically, which can be set in Outlook.

The two outlets give different end dates. Windows Central reports that retirement begins on October 26, 2026, and continues gradually until the feature is completely rolled back by the end of March 2027. DrWindows.de reports that the change is due to be completed by mid-November 2026.

Microsoft unveiled the feature last year and appeared excited about it. Matthew Marzynski, then a principal product manager in Microsoft Digital, said it was like having a personal assistant that could ease the stress of a huge unread inbox. Mark Stratford, a senior product manager, said it "revolutionizes email." Just over a year later, it is being retired.

Why the feature is being retired

Microsoft has shared little about the reason. It says the rollback will help create a simpler Outlook Copilot experience. DrWindows.de places the change within a wider clean-up: over the summer Microsoft moved some Outlook features to Copilot, and it has recently removed Copilot-based themes.