Microsoft announced plans to start stripping Copilot out of select Windows apps in March after criticism of the company’s mishandling of its operating system reached a fever pitch. As it turns out though, Windows isn’t the only place where you’ll see less Copilot: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has announced that the AI assistant will also be removed from the gaming brand’s mobile app and Xbox consoles.
Under previous Xbox leadership, Copilot was introduced as a sort of in-game 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 bring Copilot to Xbox consoles later this year. Those plans apparently “don’t align” with where Xbox is headed, Sharma said in a post announcing new hires to the Xbox division.
Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers.
Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business…— Asha (@asha_shar) May 5, 2026
“Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers,” Sharma said. “Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business back on track. As part of this shift, you’ll see us begin to retire features that don’t align with where we’re headed. We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console.”
Before she was tapped to lead Xbox, Sharma was the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI division, and several of her new hires are coming from her former team, CNBC reports. That includes Jared Palmer, CoreAI’s vice president of product, who’s joining Xbox to work on engineering and infrastructure; Tim Allen, CoreAI’s vice president of design and research, who’ll now lead design at Xbox; and Evan Chaki, a general manager at CoreAI who’ll be in charge of a team of engineers tasked with simplifying development.
Those hires and Sharma’s decision to retire Copilot suggests that AI might not be a big part of the public-facing products Xbox offers, but it could be integrated into how the division is run and the tools it offers to developers. Whether that proves to be positive remains to be seen, but like the recent change to Xbox Game Pass’ pricing, it’s at least decisive action in Sharma’s quest to fix Xbox.
