Xbox Is Ditching Microsoft’s Copilot AI
Microsoft announced plans to begin removing Copilot from some Windows apps in March after criticism of the company’s mishandling of its operating system came to a head. It turns out, however, that Windows isn’t the only place you’ll see less of Copilot: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced that the AI assistant will also be removed from the gaming brand’s mobile app and Xbox consoles.
Under Xbox’s previous leadership, Copilot was pitched as a sort of gaming assistant that would be aware of what you’re playing and able to offer contextual advice based on what’s on your screen. Microsoft launched a beta version of the experience by adding Copilot to the Xbox mobile app in May 2025, but based on a GDC presentation the company gave in March, the plan was to also introduce Copilot to Xbox consoles later this year. These plans apparently don’t align with the direction Xbox is taking, Sharma said in a post announcing new hires in the Xbox division.
Xbox needs to move faster, deepen its ties to the community, and resolve friction between players and developers.
Today, we promoted the leaders who helped build Xbox, while bringing in new voices to help us move forward. This balance is important as we get business…-Asha (@asha_shar) May 5, 2026
“Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connections with the community and resolve friction between players and developers,” Sharma said. “Today, we promoted the leaders who helped build Xbox, while bringing in new voices to help us move forward. That balance is important as we get the company back on track. As part of this change, you’ll see us begin to retire features that don’t fit with where we’re going. We’ll begin winding down Copilot on mobile and stop development of Copilot on console.”
Before being named head of Xbox, Sharma was president of Microsoft’s CoreAI division, and several of her new hires come from her former team, CNBC reports. This includes CoreAI VP of Product Jared Palmer, who joins Xbox to work on engineering and infrastructure; Tim Allen, vice president of design and research at CoreAI, who will now lead design at Xbox; and Evan Chaki, general manager of CoreAI, who will lead a team of engineers responsible for simplifying development.
These hires and Sharma’s decision to retire Copilot suggest that AI may not be a large part of the public-facing products Xbox offers, but it could be integrated into the way the division is run and the tools it offers developers. Whether this will prove positive remains to be seen, but like the recent Xbox Game Pass price change, it’s at least a decisive move in Sharma’s quest to fix the Xbox.
