Update your settings and create themes with Copilot

  • 7 minutes

The new Outlook for Windows gives you powerful tools to personalize your workspace and make it feel like your own. Learn how to adjust key settings and use Microsoft Copilot to generate custom themes that reflect your style. Whether you prefer a clean, minimal look or something more expressive, Copilot helps you create a theme with just a few prompts.

Customize your new Outlook

The new Outlook for Windows gives you more ways to personalize how you work. You can choose between light, dark, or system themes, and apply classic or modern themes to add visual flair to your inbox. Modern themes even include full-screen background images and subtle animations.

You can also tailor how messages appear. Adjust text size and spacing, filter messages into Focused and Other tabs, and choose whether to group conversations or display each message separately. The reading pane and ribbon layout are also customizable, so you can create a workspace that fits your preferences.

In the following video, learn how to personalize the new Outlook for Windows with themes, layout options, and message display settings.

Create themes with Microsoft Copilot

With Copilot in the new Outlook for Windows, you can go beyond selecting a preset theme—you can create one that reflects your unique style and preferences. Whether you're aiming for a calming workspace or a vibrant, expressive inbox, Copilot helps you generate a theme that fits your needs with just a few prompts.

Let's learn how to use Copilot to describe your ideal theme, preview the results, and apply it to your Outlook experience. Then, let's explore how to adjust elements like background imagery, color palettes, and contrast settings to make your inbox feel just right.

In new Outlook for Windows, select the gear icon to access Settings.

Screenshot of the Settings gear.

Then, in settings:

  1. Select General from the Settings menu.
  2. Select Appearance.
  3. Scroll down to Themes by Copilot in the Modern themes section, and select the Custom Theme icon.

Screenshot of the Themes by Copilot section.

Warning

You must have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to use this Copilot feature within Microsoft 365 apps. If you don't have a license, you can still personalize Outlook using Image, Color, and Classic themes.

In the Custom Theme settings, set your theme parameters, then select Create. In the following example, we chose Location theme in the Oil painting style and adjusted the theme to refresh every week.

Screenshot of the Custom Theme in Outlook.

It might take a few minutes to generate your theme. Once it's finished, Choose Apply to apply the theme to Outlook. Or, if you want to see another theme option, select Regenerate to try again.

Screenshot of the Custom Theme output in Outlook.

Now that you updated your settings and created you your theme, it's time to set notifications and reminders.