Outlook shows co pilot greyed out

Question

hi there

i am using my apple mac desktop version of outlook and the co pilot is greyed out and not able to be used to reply to email.

i have tried all the suggesions but still cant access co pilot. its showing but its greyed out

thanks

Answer 1

Hi @Ben Portet

Thank you for posting your question in the Q&A Forum. 

It can certainly be frustrating when a feature is visible but not accessible. Based on the symptoms you've described this "greyed out" state is typically related to how the application validates your license or your privacy configurations.

Since you are using the New Outlook for Mac, please try the following steps to re-establish the connection:

1. Verify Account & License Assignment

Please ensure that the account currently signed into Outlook is the one associated with your Copilot subscription.

• For Personal use: This requires a Microsoft 365 Personal/Family plan plus a Copilot Pro subscription.
• For Business use: This requires a Business Standard/Premium or Enterprise license with an assigned Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

2. Refresh Your License

Even with a valid subscription, the local app might need a manual "handshake" to update its status:

• Open Outlook.
• In the top Apple menu bar, click on Outlook and select About Outlook.
• In the information window, select More Info... and click Refresh License.
• Please restart Outlook entirely after this process to allow the changes to take effect.

3. Review Privacy Settings

Copilot is a cloud-based service that requires "Connected Experiences" to be active to function:

• Navigate to Outlook > Preferences > Privacy.
• Ensure that the option "Experiences that analyze your content" is enabled.
• Confirm that "All connected experiences" is also toggled ON.

Note: If these settings are managed by an organization, you may need to consult your IT administrator to ensure these permissions are granted at the tenant level.

To maintain compatibility, please go to Help > Check for Updates to ensure you are running the most recent version of the Outlook client.

For your convenience, you can find a detailed visual walkthrough in this official Microsoft support article: How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps - Microsoft Support

I hope this helps restore your access to Copilot. If the button remains inactive after these steps, please let us know so we can investigate further.

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