Word and Co-Pilot Crashing

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Word and Co-Pilot Crashing

Thaddeus Cassiday 0

I pay for this every year and I will say it is getting to be a bit expensive. This has now occurred twice while working in Word with Co-Pilot. I lost data but most important I lost time and patience. Once I was able to retrieve an older version of our work Co-Pilot can no longer take over and finish the document/form. Co-Pilot can give me instructions on how to do it but that is not what I thought I was paying for. I am not very good working with forms inside of Word. I purchased this software for that reason. Why does it continue to occur with zero feedback.

Moved from Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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Answer 1

Hi Thaddeus Cassiday

Since this happened in Word for Mac 16.107.3 while Copilot was actively working in the file, and Word shut down unexpectedly without a clear error, this looks like a crash rather than a normal save event. After a crash, the recovered file can be missing the most recent unsaved edits.

I’d suggest first going to Help > Check for Updates in Word for Mac and installing the latest Office updates. Microsoft provides Word for Mac fixes through AutoUpdate.

If possible, save the file in OneDrive or SharePoint and keep AutoSave turned on. AutoSave works with Microsoft 365 files stored there and can help reduce data loss. Also check File > Info > Manage Document or Version History for any recoverable copy. It may be safest to save after major edits and use Copilot on a copy of the file until the behavior improves. If it keeps happening, please send feedback from inside Word so Microsoft receives the crash details directly.

Additionally, you can contact Microsoft Support to gain some insight from them as well.

Thank you for your understanding

Answer 2

Dear Thaddeus Cassiday,

I’m sorry you’re having a problem and for the situation you encountered, I deeply understand the inconvenience caused and apologize for it.

Regarding your issue, may I kindly ask a few questions so I can understand your issue better:

First, please provide a detailed description of how you encountered the issue. If any error messages are displayed, please take a screenshot and share it with me for further review.
I see that you have tagged this as “for business”, so I would like to confirm once more to avoid any confusion: Is this issue occurring on your work account, your personal account, or on both account?
Does this error occur on desktop, web, or both?
What version of Office are you using? About Office: What version of Office am I using? - Microsoft Support
Does Word crash while Copilot is actively generating content, or when applying the generated changes?
Have you experienced Copilot crashing in other Office applications as well?
Is the document stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, or saved locally?
Does the document contain forms, content controls, templates (.dotx), or protected sections?
Has this issue occurred with multiple documents or only one specific file?
If you create a new blank document, does Copilot work normally?

Note: Please note that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Your understanding and co-operation are highly appreciated. Thank you for your precious time. I am looking forward to your response!

Thaddeus Cassiday 0 Reputation points

2026-04-06T23:34:43.8966667+00:00

#1: No error messages were received other than unexpectedly shut down.

#2: Personal account for Health reasons. was building a Log Form to track Blood Pressure readings etc..

#3: I was working on my IMAC desktop

#4: Microsoft Word for Mac: Version 16.107.3 (26032814). License Microsoft 365 Subscription

#5: Actively generating content. Was adding rows to a form that "it "had lost. The rows were correct at one time and when a change was made to something else the rows disappeared. While Co-Pilot was correcting the rows it crashed

#6: In Word on another occasion

#7: It was not saved in in either but I was able to retrieve a version that was missing several minutes of updates

#8: The document was a form

#9: Occurred with this form and occurred once prior to a text only document

#10: Yes.....but we had a lot of time invested into this form and my biggest issue was the fact that I could retrieve a copy of the form that was missing several minutes of input but Co-Pilot could not continue to update. it stated it could tell me what to do to include updating. I purchase this package because I am not good especially with forms and the first set of instructions I received had a full page of instructions. That is not what I thought I signed up for. I did not understand all the instructions. I finished my form minus the future updates.
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Word and Co-Pilot Crashing

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