Microsoft has announced that its Edge browser will automatically open the Copilot side pane when users open links from Outlook.
The feature appeared on the Microsoft 365 roadmap on February 25, with a rollout due to start in May 2026. According to Microsoft, the update will “provide contextual insights and actionable suggestion chips [sic] based on email and destination content.”
It added: “This experience helps users quickly understand content, take action with fewer steps, and get more value from Copilot while extending productive browsing time in Edge.”
The update is consistent with Microsoft’s current Copilot-everywhere strategy and will roll out worldwide to standard multi-tenant cloud instances.
Whether it will be opt-in or opt-out remains unconfirmed, though users hoping for a conveniently placed off switch may be disappointed. Microsoft is keen to put its AI assistant in front of as many users as possible.
The Register asked Microsoft how much control administrators would have over the feature and what would happen if Edge wasn’t the default browser. The company has yet to respond.
Finding a corner of Microsoft’s software that Copilot hasn’t reached is increasingly difficult – even Notepad has not escaped – and disabling it across the company’s productivity suite has become a game of Whac-A-Mole for enterprise administrators who have yet to embrace the technology.
The automatic pane could hand those administrators yet another mallet to swing, particularly given that Copilot surfacing suggestions based on email content could run afoul of data security policies. That said, enterprises already nervous about where their data ends up likely have Copilot policies well in hand.
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of the Vivaldi browser project, which is already surfing the wave of anti-AI sentiment, isn’t too impressed with Microsoft’s latest efforts pertaining to Copilot and Edge.
“This is another example of trying to push Edge in every way possible and also forcing Copilot on users that may not want it,” he told The Register.
“Considering how sensitive corporate emails can be, the last thing you want is them being snooped on by an LLM hosted who knows where. This would be highly problematic from a corporate security and privacy point of view, and even more of a problem for private users who might be using one of MS’s email services. Just imagine if someone sends an email exploiting that for phishing purposes,” he added.
“Should this be an opt-in rather than an opt-out? Absolutely. The better question is whether it should be a thing at all.” ®