Microsoft removes Mico avatar from Copilot voice mode

In short: Microsoft is removing the Mico character from Copilot’s voice mode and moving it to its Learn Live platform.

What happened

Microsoft Copilot will no longer show Mico, a small yellow animated character, when people use Copilot’s voice mode. Voice mode is the setting where you talk to Copilot and it talks back, like a phone call with a helper.

Microsoft confirmed the change on a support page about retired Copilot features. The company says Mico is being moved to Learn Live, a Microsoft learning platform, because the avatar will have “more to react to” there. Microsoft says it is removing Mico from Copilot “in waves,” meaning users will lose it gradually rather than all at once.

Mico first appeared in Copilot’s voice mode in October 2025. At the time, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman said the character was meant to give Copilot more of an identity. Mico would react in real time with facial expressions and animations, similar to how Clippy, Microsoft’s old Office helper, tried to add personality.

Microsoft also notes that Mico helped the company learn what kinds of “warmth” and expressiveness people want when talking with AI. Those lessons, Microsoft says, will influence how Copilot looks and feels going forward. The timing also lines up with Microsoft’s plan to merge its Copilot app with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

Why it matters

For everyday users, this means Copilot’s voice mode may feel more plain and less like talking to a character on screen. It is another example of Microsoft regularly changing the “face” of its assistants, like retiring Clippy, Cortana, and other helpers in the past.

Source: The Verge AI