Microsoft has announced that anyone with a Copilot subscription or commercial license can now add personalized themes to their Outlook to make the program stand out. Those without a Copilot subscription also enjoy non-AI themes.
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Recognizing that reading and sending emails all day can quickly become monotonous, Outlook's introduction of Themes by Copilot means you can "take yourself to every corner of the world by building a theme inspired by any of the over 100 curated destinations available." As well as using one of Microsoft's static themes with "abstract imagery that caters to a variety of colors and lighting styles," you can also make your theme dynamic by choosing whether it updates every few hours, every day, every week, or every month. What's more, your theme can change based on your current location or local weather. If you fancy a more artistic theme, you can opt for an oil painting or cartoon-style theme.
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To activate this feature, available to Copilot subscribers on the iOS and Android Outlook apps, Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the Web, and Outlook for Mac, click the Settings cog on the ribbon, and choose General > Appearance. There, head to the Themes By Copilot section, where you can either select a topic thumbnail to create an AI-powered theme in an instant, or open the custom theme tile to design your own.
Themes by Copilot adds to the already-present AI-powered capabilities in Outlook, such as using Copilot to draft and reply to emails, summarize email content, and search for emails and calendar events. Microsoft says that Theme by Copilot is the "first instance of dynamic AI-generated theming in productivity applications," though many Microsoft 365 subscribers would undoubtedly prefer the company to fix some of the program's functionality issues before focusing on how it looks.
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If you aren't a Copilot subscriber, you don't have to settle for the default Outlook layout. Indeed, Microsoft offers "a collection of new non-Copilot powered themes, designed to make the platform more beautiful and accessible for everyone." This includes vibrant imagery with different color hues to match (or lift!) your mood and is accessed via the same Appearance menu as the Copilot themes.
Source: Microsoft