Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app” • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#191

Post by oaiey » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC

ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #56

I genuinely thought this was a joke when I saw the headline, and I had to double check the domain name to verify that this wasn't a parody. Apart from being absolutely abysmal marketing, the front page alone is wildly inconsistent: * "Welcome to Microsoft 365 Copilot" * "The Microsoft 365 Copilot app (formerly Office) [...]" * "Microsoft 365 (formerly Microsoft Office 365) is a subscription service [...]" Which is it…

I think it misses a .net in the end. Oh wait, this naming mistake they already made like 25 years ago. Funny how their learnt nothing out of their own mistakes.

Today their CEO released a statement that people should focus not on AI but on the uses of AI. So put the AI in the back and focus on the benefits. This is the exact opposite.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#192

Post by zazazx » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:24 PM UTC

Cool! One more app icon to delete across my platforms.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#193

Post by lr0 » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:25 PM UTC

I wrote a very relevant post here couple of months ago about Microsoft's approach of (re)branding https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44930297

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#194

Post by oaiey » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:25 PM UTC

daemin wrote: post #137

nelox wrote: post #27

1975: Traf-O-Data renamed Microsoft. Traffic counting ditched. Visionary. 1985: MS-DOS released. Users typed everything. Peak convenience. 1995: Windows 95 launched. Clippy forced assistance. Users thrilled. 2012: Metro interface rolled out. Tiles everywhere. Intuitive design. 2014: Windows Azure renamed Microsoft Azure. “Windows” dropped. Bold move. 2020: Office 365 renamed Microsoft 365. Bing renamed Microsoft Bing…

You forgot the .Net renaming in the early 2000's.

Which is the exact mistake they are repeating right now. Force one brand on everything, even if it has nothing to do with it.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#195

Post by oaiey » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:28 PM UTC

pu_pe wrote: post #4

I would have thought the Office brand was much more valuable and recognizable than Copilot.

Office not so much I think. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook ... totally. But Office is just a packaging name no one uses day to day.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#196

Post by oaiey » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

While I agree with WTH on branding and everything, I never understood the "Office App". Excel, Powerpoint, Word .... all fine. OneDrive/Sharepoint ... absolutely. But the Office App was for me always just the app for the total noobs who do not remember how Word was called. Why would I click office app, then open a word template there. It always found pointless.

Under that spirit ... this may even make sense to rename it to Copilot app whatever.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#197

Post by anildash » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

BonitaPersona wrote: post #136

mindcrash wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They include the "formerly..." to hilariously try to not confuse people (not joking). They did the same when they rebranded Azure Active Directory and moved it into the Entra family of security products. It's now fully called: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory)

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

Prince changed his name because a corporation had refused to give him control over the work he created, and wouldn't let him release work under the name that he was born with. (Sort of the template for "Taylor's Version" decades later.) And he then used a logo that became the most successful personal logo of all time, not a mishmash of design-by-committee.

So, basically the _opposite_ of an incoherent brand based around training on content that was gathered from creators without consent, being foisted onto employees who didn't ask for it, with an ugly logo that nobody will ever remember.

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#198

Post by ahpook » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 7:45 PM UTC

anildash wrote: post #197

BonitaPersona wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

Prince changed his name because a corporation had refused to give him control over the work he created, and wouldn't let him release work under the name that he was born with. (Sort of the template for "Taylor's Version" decades later.) And he then used a logo that became the most successful personal logo of all time, not a mishmash of design-by-committee. So, basically the _opposite_ of an incoherent brand based aro…

Moral: don't come for Prince or Anil will come for you :)

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#199

Post by falcor84 » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 8:05 PM UTC

itronitron wrote: post #185

falcor84 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still put "Max" as the second worst (after "X").

I guess no one remembers the attempted Netflix rebrand.

I don't. What (and when) was it?

Re: Microsoft Office renamed to “Microsoft 365 Copilot app”

#200

Post by gloosx » Mon, Jan 05, 2026, 8:09 PM UTC

Would be funny if they renamed Windows to Copilots