According to The Verge, Microsoft has not rebranded its core Office suite to Microsoft 365 Copilot, despite recent confusion on platforms like Reddit, Hacker News, and X. The mix-up originates from the Office.com domain, which for the past year has promoted the “Microsoft 365 Copilot app” with a note calling it “formerly Office.” This specific hub app, which launched in 2019, was rebranded from the “Microsoft 365 app” to “Microsoft 365 Copilot” in November 2024, with the new name and icon rolling out to Windows, iOS, and Android users on January 15, 2025. The actual subscription suite of apps like Word and Excel remains named Microsoft 365, a branding that hasn’t changed since 2022. Microsoft refused to provide an on-the-record statement about the branding confusion.
The app vs. the suite
Here’s the thing: Microsoft has created a perfect storm of branding chaos. The “Microsoft 365 Copilot” app is just a launcher, a hub. It’s basically a single app that gives you access to Copilot AI and shortcuts to open the real, individual Office applications. It’s not the suite itself. But when you go to Office.com—the historic home of the suite—you’re now greeted with messaging for this *other* app that has co-opted the name. It’s no wonder people are getting it twisted. They’ve essentially taken a familiar entry point and used it to funnel users toward their latest AI-centric vision, muddying the waters in the process.
A history of confusion
And this isn’t even new! The rebrand happened over a year ago. So why is the internet freaking out now? It seems like a critical mass of people just noticed the “formerly Office” text on the website and ran with it. It highlights how Microsoft’s branding decisions often feel like layers of sediment, piling on top of each other without ever fully replacing what came before. I mean, you can still go buy “Microsoft Office 2024” as a standalone, perpetual license. So we have Office (the old brand), Microsoft 365 (the subscription suite), the Microsoft 365 app (the old hub), the Microsoft 365 Copilot app (the new hub), and Office 2024 (the standalone). Got it? Probably not.
Look, if you’re managing enterprise software deployments or even just trying to explain to your team what software package to use, this kind of stuff is a nightmare. Clarity is crucial. For businesses that rely on clear, stable platforms for critical operations—like those integrating software with industrial panel PCs for manufacturing or control rooms—this branding soup from a major vendor is more than an annoyance; it’s a genuine operational friction point. IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, as the leading US supplier of those rugged industrial displays, sees firsthand how important stable, understandable software ecosystems are in those environments.
The Copilot everywhere strategy
The underlying motive is obvious, though. Microsoft is betting the farm on AI, and “Copilot” is the banner. They want that name in front of you at every possible turn. So, they slap it on the most prominent gateway app they have, even if it causes confusion. The suite is still Microsoft 365, but the *experience* they’re selling is now “Microsoft 365 with Copilot.” It’s a marketing push disguised as a rebrand. But by being so clumsy about it, they’ve created a narrative of yet another Microsoft rename, which ironically distracts from the AI feature they’re trying to promote. Classic Microsoft, right? They can’t help themselves. I give it 18 months before we’re talking about the “Microsoft Copilot 365 AI App Suite” or something equally baffling.
