Microsoft is moving another Outlook feature behind a Copilot paywall

Microsoft will place another meeting feature behind a paywall. Outlook's Meeting Insight feature will be retired by early September 2026. After that date, meeting insights will not appear in event details and Outlook users will not see relevant files and emails brought up by Meeting Insight.

The replacement to Meeting Insight is the "Prepare for this meeting" experience. That feature summarizes relevant content for a meeting, such as tasks and documents.

According to Microsoft, the change is being made to "provide a more intelligent and context-aware meeting preparation experience." That may be true, but it comes with the side benefit to Microsoft of requiring a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Meeting Insight within Outlook did not require a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Microsoft detailed the change through the Microsoft 365 Message Center ( archived here ):

"Microsoft is retiring Outlook's Meeting Insights by early September 2026, replacing it with Microsoft 365 Copilot's meeting preparation features for licensed users. Meeting Insights will be removed across platforms, with no action required but recommended communication, documentation updates, and user training. No compliance issues noted."

The "Prepare for this meeting" experience in Outlook summarizes tasks, documents, and other content related to a scheduled meeting. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Meeting Insight in Outlook and the "Prepare for this meeting" experience are somewhat similar, but I wouldn't call the switch a one-for-one swap. Meeting Insight brings up the actual files and emails related to a meeting. The "Prepare for this meeting" experience creates a summary of relevant content.

While summaries can be useful, they are not replacements for source material. That's even more the case if users already include summaries in relevant documents and emails.

Curbing Copilot

Microsoft seems torn on how much to force Copilot onto people. (Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

I thought Microsoft had s…