Microsoft announced the withdrawal of one of Word’s most useful functions. The technological giant is betting all its chips on the artificial intelligence of Copilot, which means that many characteristics of its applications will be eliminated or replaced over time. Such is the case of the intelligent search, a function that debuted in Office 2016 and that has demonstrated its usefulness.
In An update to your support websiteMicrosoft warns that Word’s smart search was discontinued on January 1, 2025. This functionality allowed access to definitions, relevant links and synonyms directly within the document right clicking on a word. . After discontinuation, the “Search” option within the contextual menu now shows an error message or remains loading indefinitely.
Although Microsoft has not explicitly declared that Copilot will replace the intelligent search, the moment of this elimination suggests that it will be. The assistant driven by AI has the ability to provide definitions, links and guidance for writing. In addition, those of Redmond launched Copilot Actions, agents promoted by AI designed for applications such as Teams and Outlook.
Word says goodbye to a very useful function to open the way to AI
The intelligent search function in Word was a very useful tool that allowed users to obtain Additional information directly from the document. When selecting a word or phrase and right click, a side panel was opened that showed definitions, synonyms, translations, relevant images and other web search results related to the selected term.
Have you ever reviewed a document or read an email and have been challenged by an unknown word or phrase? In Microsoft 365, work more intelligently and quickly look for the word or phrase to connect to several resources related to it.
In general terms, intelligent search offered a range of options that we now use with co -pilotsuch as learning new words, expanding knowledge about a term through articles and other resources, as well as obtaining writing suggestions with synonyms and translations.
Microsoft enabled this function as a strategy to remain in Office. Users would not have to open the browser to consult, since the website would be completely integrated into Word, thanks to Microsoft 365.
The loss of intelligent search implies a greater dependence on Copilot. Microsoft is forcing users to adopt their AI as the main tool to obtain information within your office suite. Although this seems a logical step, many users were already accustomed to the previous function, which will generate some friction.
