Regression in New Outlook: Unable to decline meetings with comments

Question

In the classic Outlook client, declining a meeting allowed the user to add a short explanatory message to the organizer. This basic and widely used workflow has been removed in the New Outlook.

In the current New Outlook experience, selecting Decline immediately sends the response without giving any opportunity to add a comment. This forces users either to decline without context (which is unprofessional in many business environments) or to send a separate email before declining.

This is a clear functional regression, not a UX preference:

• The feature existed for years in Outlook classic
• There is no equivalent workflow in the new UI
• Microsoft moderators have confirmed this limitation and suggested workarounds instead of a proper solution

For users who manage many meetings, this significantly degrades communication quality and adds unnecessary friction.

Expected behavior: When declining a meeting, users should have the option to:

• Decline and send no response
• Decline and send a response with comments (single-step)

Impact:

• Poor professional communication
• Additional manual steps (extra emails)
• Regression compared to Outlook classic

Please consider restoring this functionality or providing an equivalent option in New Outlook.In the classic Outlook client, declining a meeting allowed the user to add a short explanatory message to the organizer. This basic and widely used workflow has been removed in the New Outlook.

In the current New Outlook experience, selecting Decline immediately sends the response without giving any opportunity to add a comment. This forces users either to decline without context (which is unprofessional in many business environments) or to send a separate email before declining.

This is a clear functional regression, not a UX preference:

• The feature existed for years in Outlook classic
• There is no equivalent workflow in the new UI
• Microsoft moderators have confirmed this limitation and suggested workarounds instead of a proper solution

For users who manage many meetings, this significantly degrades communication quality and adds unnecessary friction.

Expected behavior:
When declining a meeting, users should have the option to:

• Decline and send no response
• Decline and send a response with comments (single-step)

Impact:

• Poor professional communication
• Additional manual steps (extra emails)
• Regression compared to Outlook classic

Please consider restoring this functionality or providing an equivalent option in New Outlook.

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Answer 1

Hello @IVAN LARZABAL GOÑI
Based on your description, I understand that you are experiencing an issue with declining a meeting while also sending a message to the organizer.
To decline a meeting and include a note, you can choose the option “RSVP with note to organizer.” This option allows you to include a personalized message along with your response. Once selected, you will then be prompted to choose whether you would like to accept, tentatively accept, or decline the meeting. Your note will be sent to the organizer together with your selected response, ensuring that your message is properly communicated.

Using this feature is particularly helpful if you would like to explain your unavailability or provide additional context when declining a meeting invitation.

I hope this information clarifies the process and helps resolve your concern. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions, require additional clarification, or need assistance with anything else.

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