The new Outlook for Windows adds Copilot and other perks, but I still prefer the classic version

Microsoft is really trying to convince people to use its new Outlook for Windows app. Toward that end, the app has received its latest round of updates. Those include Copilot AI, offline access, and a few other perks, according to a Microsoft support page spotted by Windows Central.

Topping the list is Copilot. Microsoft’s AI will now be available to use across all your connected email accounts, including Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, Live.com, and MSN.com, as well as third-party providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud. Of course, the access isn’t freely bestowed. To tap into Copilot, you’ll need either a Copilot Pro subscription or available AI credits through a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan.

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If you qualify, Copilot will pop up as an icon on the top toolbar. Click that icon and you can ask Copilot to draft a new email for you based on your prompt. For example, tell it to write an email asking your boss for a 15% raise based on all the projects you completed ahead of deadline, and it will cook up a draft for you to use as a starting point.

You can also select existing text in an email. From there, you’re able to tell Copilot to rewrite it, fix any grammar and spelling issues, change the tone, make it shorter, or make it longer. You can also choose a coaching option through which Copilot will suggest ways to improve your message.

Don’t want to use Copilot? You can easily disable it. Click the Copilot button and select Settings. Then just turn off the switch for “Turn on Copilot.”

Next up are several options that will now work if you’re offline. You can opt to save as many as 30 days’ worth of emails to access them offline, up from the previous timeframe of only seven days. Search folders, which organize emails based on certain criteria, are now accessible offline. Further, you’re now able to cancel a sent email even if you’re offline.

The classic Outlook desktop client has always worked well with PST files, which store your emails. Now with the new Outlook, you can reply to and forward emails in a PST file. Microsoft also promises that future updates will add greater support for PST. Next, you can now easily move emails among different personal accounts and tag a shared folder as a favorite.

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Most of these seem like worthwhile additions to Outlook, especially the Copilot access. But I’m still not a fan of the new Outlook, as Microsoft has confusingly called it since its inception.

Yes, the new Outlook offers certain advantages over the classic version. Designed as a Windows app, it’s fast, lightweight, and visually appealing. But in many ways, it’s still lacking. Part of the problem is that it seems designed more for casual consumers than for advanced users or businesses.

There’s no support for VBA macros, no support for certain types of enterprise accounts, and still limited support for PST files and offline access. For years, I’ve used the classic Outlook that comes with Office, aka Microsoft 365. Yes, the program can be slow. It can feel bloated and cluttered. It offers features that most people probably never use. But I’d rather have a program with too many features than not enough.

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I also dislike the usual strong-arm tactics that Microsoft has used to push the new Outlook. So far, it’s been rolled out as a replacement for the old Windows Mail & Calendar (which I actually preferred). But Microsoft has also been threatening to replace the classic Outlook with the new app, a move that would upset plenty of users, individual and enterprise alike.

Ideally, I’d like to see Microsoft continue to keep classic Outlook and the new Outlook as two separate applications for different audiences. It should continue to update and enhance each one, but stop trying to force people to move to a new version that still lacks many of the core features that classic Outlook users need.

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