Microsoft is preparing to retire Meeting Insight in Outlook, with the feature scheduled to disappear by early September 2026. Once it’s gone, Outlook will no longer automatically surface related emails and documents inside meeting invitations, a capability many users have relied on to quickly prepare for upcoming meetings.
Its replacement is a new AI-powered experience called Prepare for this meeting, but that one requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
Microsoft says the change is intended to provide a smarter and more personalized way to prepare for meetings. Instead of displaying the original emails and files, Copilot generates a summary of relevant information, highlights tasks, and pulls together key context before the meeting begins.
While that may save time, it also changes how users access information. Meeting Insight gave direct access to the original source material, allowing users to review emails and documents themselves. Copilot’s replacement focuses on AI-generated summaries, which may be convenient but aren’t always a substitute for reading the underlying content.
The move also continues Microsoft’s broader strategy of shifting more productivity features into its paid AI offering. Earlier this year, several Copilot capabilities in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote also became exclusive to Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers. For businesses already investing in Copilot, the transition may feel like a natural upgrade. For everyone else, however, it’s another example of a previously free feature disappearing behind a subscription.