Microsoft announced plans in March to remove Copilot from certain Windows apps after growing criticism about its operating system. Now, it turns out Windows isn’t the only place where Copilot will be less visible: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has stated that the AI assistant will also be taken out of the Xbox mobile app and Xbox consoles.
Under previous Xbox leadership, Copilot was introduced as a kind of in-game helper. It was meant to understand what you were playing and offer relevant advice based on what was on your screen. Microsoft launched a beta version of this by adding Copilot to the Xbox mobile app in May 2025. A GDC presentation in March even indicated plans to bring Copilot to Xbox consoles later this year. However, Sharma said these plans “don’t align” with the new direction Xbox is heading.
In a post announcing new hires for the Xbox division, Sharma explained, “Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers.” She added, “Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward. This balance is important as we get the business back on track. As part of this shift, you’ll see us begin to retire features that don’t align with where we’re headed. We will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console.”
Before leading Xbox, Sharma was the President of Microsoft’s CoreAI division. Several of her new hires are coming from her old team, according to CNBC. This includes Jared Palmer, CoreAI’s vice president of product, who will now work on engineering and infrastructure at Xbox. Tim Allen, CoreAI’s vice president of design and research, will lead design for Xbox. Evan Chaki, a general manager at CoreAI, will head a team of engineers tasked with simplifying game development.
These hires and Sharma’s decision to remove Copilot suggest that AI might not be a major part of Xbox’s public-facing products. Instead, it could be integrated into how the division operates internally and the tools it provides to developers. Whether this new approach proves beneficial remains to be seen. However, like the recent change to Xbox Game Pass pricing, it represents decisive action in Sharma’s mission to improve Xbox.
