Microsoft to Eliminate Old AI Menus: The Copilot Design System Arrives

Recent criticisms aimed at Redmond regarding the forced integration of artificial intelligence within Windows 11 have prompted management to change the course of development. The goal is not to eliminate assistance features but to transition to an ecosystem where the user interface becomes invisible and activates only based on the actual intent of use.

To manage this transition, the company has entrusted John Friedman, a long-time veteran with over twenty years of internal experience and recently appointed Chief Design Officer for Microsoft 365, with the development of the Copilot Design System. As explained by the manager himself, it is a design framework aimed at orchestrating workflows across various services, standardizing algorithm behavior so that it operates as a thinking partner rather than as a software extension detached from context.

Microsoft will implement a new Copilot Design System on Office.

The redefinition of the interface was also necessary to correct some stylistic choices that did not meet user approval. This is the case with the Dynamic Action Button (DAB), the floating button positioned in the lower right corner of Office applications, on which the company has initiated a partial reversal after receiving negative feedback. In its place, the new system will be articulated around three main interaction surfaces: the classic side chat panel, the on-canvas interface (which shows Copilot options exclusively when a portion of text is highlighted), and Suggested User Actions (SUA), which offer variable contextual prompts depending on the ongoing operation.

The technical core of the Copilot Design System revolves around an interaction paradigm called Throw & Catch. Developed based on analyses tracked through mouse-tracking and prototyping experiments, this model anticipates that the various entry points of the system will communicate constantly in the background. When the user shifts focus or changes applications, the software executes a smooth handover of interaction and logical processing, displaying the assistant only where needed and hiding it when attention shifts elsewhere, thus reducing cognitive friction.

Currently, the framework is in full evolutionary phase. Development teams are engaged in unifying the visual language to ensure consistency across different devices and formats. The final architecture aims to ensure that Copilot maintains autonomous contextual awareness, capable of understanding the user's productivity needs without requiring the user to manually call up the tool or configure input parameters with every application change.