Copilot Rewrite Feature not working in Classic Outlook

Question

Copilot Rewrite Feature not working in Classic Outlook

Nunes, Michael 25

When creating a new email in Classic Outlook and attempting to rewrite the text using Copilot, the following error message appears:

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Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T11:06:47.58+00:00

Please need help.
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-23T14:49:25.2266667+00:00

What Office Channel are you on? To check click File, Office Account, under About Outlook.
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T14:52:11.8633333+00:00

Monthly Enterprise Channel
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T15:22:00.47+00:00

Thanks for the clarification.

I’ll coordinate with our tenant admin to open a support case to support the investigation.
Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-04-23T16:51:34.0533333+00:00

We have a few users with Copilot licenses in our enterprise environment, and we have received reports of the same issue. We are on the same MEC as well Version 2603 (Build 19822.20180)

Rewrite with Copilot works in Outlook New with no problems.

but in Outlook Classic as of about 10-12 days ago, when a user attempts to use rewrite with Copilot, they get the error 'Sorry, something went wrong. Copilot is working on it.' once they click Generate.
Louis-Alban Ropartz 0 Reputation points

2026-04-24T07:32:54.9633333+00:00

Hello @Gabriel-N

We have exactly the same issue. All users of my organization.

Microsoft® Outlook® pour Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2603 Build 16.0.19822.20086) 64 bits

Do you have any update?

Thanks
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-24T19:05:47.64+00:00

@Louis-Alban Ropartz @Cory H my recommendation is to ask your tenant admin to open a support case. At a minimum the support engineer will need to work with you to collect a Fiddler trace during repro and the Outlook logs (Help, Get Diagnostics).

We have some cases already, but they are taking time to get the trace and logs to escalate the issue. I see the feedback with this issue is primarily on MEC channel. If you urgently need to mitigate a user you could try moving them to Current Channel.
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-25T06:12:29.5733333+00:00

Hello Louis-Alban Ropartz

Sorry for the late reply. As Gabe mentioned, I think the best route now is to open a support ticket through the Admin Center for further investigation.

I also recommend Gabe’s answer as a helpful reference for other users experiencing the same issue. Thanks again to Gabe for the clarification, hope this issue resolves soon.
Richard Speidel 0 Reputation points

2026-04-28T19:37:33.0733333+00:00

I am an experiencing the same issue for a user in my tenant (Current Channel, already up-to-date). Anyone have any kind of update from their support cases before I go through the trouble of opening my own case?
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-28T20:09:33.6233333+00:00

The Outlook Team made a change from the service that may help address the issue. The change was about three hours ago. It normally takes the Outlook client about four hours and sometimes a restart to pick up changes from the service. It will probably be tomorrow before you all get the change. This change does not require any Outlook updates, just the restart + ~four hours.
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-29T07:33:25.3+00:00

Dear Nunes, Michael , Cory H , Louis-Alban Ropartz and Richard Speidel

Please take a look at the latest note from Gabe, as the Outlook team has made a service-side change that may help address this issue. It may take until tomorrow for the change to reach all users.

This update does not require any Outlook updates, just a restart and then allow about four hours for the change to take effect.

Please keep an eye on Outlook and let us know if the issue is resolved after that.

Thank you for your patience.
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-05-04T10:10:04.2066667+00:00

Hi @Gabriel-N the rewrite feature in Classic Outlook is working again on my side and in my tenant, thanks!
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-04T11:18:21.0366667+00:00

Dear Nunes, Michael , thank you for keeping us updated, and thank you to Gabe Bratton for the timely support.
Dear Cory H , Louis-Alban Ropartz and Richard Speidel , could you please check from your side and confirm whether the issue has been resolved in your tenant?
Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-05-04T14:11:45.6066667+00:00

Hey @Gabriel-N - Issue is resolved, thank you!

Answer recommended by moderator

Gabe Bratton 841 Microsoft Employee Moderator

Support has some cases with this issue in Monthly Enterprise Channel and working to get those escalated. If it's an option, you could switch to Current Channel and see if it works better there. The issue can happen on any channel but right now it appears more persistent on MEC. If you have bandwidth, please have your tenant admin open a support case which will help the investigation and priority for the issue.

Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-05-04T14:09:50.7833333+00:00

Hey Gabe, I checked with one of our users today who was affected, and the change implemented has fixed the issue. Rewrite is now once again working in Outlook Classic. Thank you for listening and helping us resolve this issue!

1 additional answer

Your answer

Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T11:06:47.58+00:00

Please need help.
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-23T14:49:25.2266667+00:00

What Office Channel are you on? To check click File, Office Account, under About Outlook.
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T14:52:11.8633333+00:00

Monthly Enterprise Channel
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T15:22:00.47+00:00

Thanks for the clarification.

I’ll coordinate with our tenant admin to open a support case to support the investigation.
Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-04-23T16:51:34.0533333+00:00

We have a few users with Copilot licenses in our enterprise environment, and we have received reports of the same issue. We are on the same MEC as well Version 2603 (Build 19822.20180)

Rewrite with Copilot works in Outlook New with no problems.

but in Outlook Classic as of about 10-12 days ago, when a user attempts to use rewrite with Copilot, they get the error 'Sorry, something went wrong. Copilot is working on it.' once they click Generate.
Louis-Alban Ropartz 0 Reputation points

2026-04-24T07:32:54.9633333+00:00

Hello @Gabriel-N

We have exactly the same issue. All users of my organization.

Microsoft® Outlook® pour Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2603 Build 16.0.19822.20086) 64 bits

Do you have any update?

Thanks
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-24T19:05:47.64+00:00

@Louis-Alban Ropartz @Cory H my recommendation is to ask your tenant admin to open a support case. At a minimum the support engineer will need to work with you to collect a Fiddler trace during repro and the Outlook logs (Help, Get Diagnostics).

We have some cases already, but they are taking time to get the trace and logs to escalate the issue. I see the feedback with this issue is primarily on MEC channel. If you urgently need to mitigate a user you could try moving them to Current Channel.
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-25T06:12:29.5733333+00:00

Hello Louis-Alban Ropartz

Sorry for the late reply. As Gabe mentioned, I think the best route now is to open a support ticket through the Admin Center for further investigation.

I also recommend Gabe’s answer as a helpful reference for other users experiencing the same issue. Thanks again to Gabe for the clarification, hope this issue resolves soon.
Richard Speidel 0 Reputation points

2026-04-28T19:37:33.0733333+00:00

I am an experiencing the same issue for a user in my tenant (Current Channel, already up-to-date). Anyone have any kind of update from their support cases before I go through the trouble of opening my own case?
Gabe Bratton 841 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2026-04-28T20:09:33.6233333+00:00

The Outlook Team made a change from the service that may help address the issue. The change was about three hours ago. It normally takes the Outlook client about four hours and sometimes a restart to pick up changes from the service. It will probably be tomorrow before you all get the change. This change does not require any Outlook updates, just the restart + ~four hours.
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-29T07:33:25.3+00:00

Dear Nunes, Michael , Cory H , Louis-Alban Ropartz and Richard Speidel

Please take a look at the latest note from Gabe, as the Outlook team has made a service-side change that may help address this issue. It may take until tomorrow for the change to reach all users.

This update does not require any Outlook updates, just a restart and then allow about four hours for the change to take effect.

Please keep an eye on Outlook and let us know if the issue is resolved after that.

Thank you for your patience.
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-05-04T10:10:04.2066667+00:00

Hi @Gabriel-N the rewrite feature in Classic Outlook is working again on my side and in my tenant, thanks!
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-04T11:18:21.0366667+00:00

Dear Nunes, Michael , thank you for keeping us updated, and thank you to Gabe Bratton for the timely support.
Dear Cory H , Louis-Alban Ropartz and Richard Speidel , could you please check from your side and confirm whether the issue has been resolved in your tenant?
Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-05-04T14:11:45.6066667+00:00

Hey @Gabriel-N - Issue is resolved, thank you!
Cory H 0 Reputation points

2026-05-04T14:09:50.7833333+00:00

Hey Gabe, I checked with one of our users today who was affected, and the change implemented has fixed the issue. Rewrite is now once again working in Outlook Classic. Thank you for listening and helping us resolve this issue!

Answer 1

Gabriel-N 20,385 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Nunes, Michael

After testing on my side, the function still appears to be working as expected.

User's image

Could you please help confirm the following points:

Since drafting with Copilot requires a specific license, kindly recheck whether the license is still assigned to you and has not expired. You can verify this in the Harmony portal.https://portal.office.com/account/?ref=Harmony#subscriptions
Please make sure that Outlook is fully updated to the latest version.

Additionally, it would be helpful if you could provide:

The version of your Outlook (classic). You can go to File > Office Account and share a screenshot.
The connection type of the affected account (Exchange, POP, IMAP).
Your operating system version.

As workarounds, you may also try:

Pressing Alt + Shift + I to see if the feature works with this shortcut.
Checking if the feature is available in the left vertical bar and using it while we continue investigating.

User's image

Looking forward to your reply.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T11:08:20.7733333+00:00

I have a M365 copilot license assigned.

My classic outlook version:

Classic outlook updated:

Type of connection is Exchange.

yes the copilot feature is available in the sidebar:

My Operating system version:
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-23T11:25:40.1666667+00:00
Hello Nunes, Michael

Thank you for the quick response. However, it seems that the screenshots are not visible, could you please re-upload them?

In the meantime, besides using Copilot in the sidebar as a workaround, you might also try the following:

Sign out and then sign back in with the account that has the Copilot license

Open Outlook in Safe Mode to check if any add-ins are causing the issue

Repair your Office installation

Hope this helps, and I’ll look forward to your update.
Nunes, Michael 25 Reputation points

2026-04-23T11:30:16.49+00:00

Can you see the images now?
Gabriel-N 20,385 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-23T12:58:43.2266667+00:00

Please note that Q&A forum is a public platform, and moderators will modify the question to hide personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hello Nunes, Michael

Thank you for sharing the screenshots.

Have you had a chance to try the suggestions in my previous reply? Since Copilot in the sidebar is still working, you can use it as a temporary workaround to draft or rewrite your emails.

You may also want to check whether this issue occurs with all new emails or only with a specific one.

Additionally, you could try switching to the New Outlook or Outlook on the web to see if the rewrite feature works there. After that, switch back to Classic Outlook to check if the feature is restored.

Finally, it might be helpful to check with your colleagues or IT admin to see if any similar issues have been reported within your organization.