Microsoft’s latest update brings a bit of flair to your inbox. Outlook users with Copilot Pro or business accounts can now personalize their email experience with new AI-generated themes.
This new feature, announced Thursday, lets you create themes based on your location or even pick from over 100 global inspirations. Available across iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and the web, it’s an upgrade for those looking to add some character to their inbox.
Dubbed “Themes by Copilot,” the feature allows themes to refresh on schedules you choose—whether that’s every few hours, daily, weekly, or monthly. You can even pick a style for each theme: realistic, oil painting, or a cartoon-inspired look. If you’ve granted Outlook location permissions, the “My Location” theme will automatically update based on where you are, creating custom visuals every time you’re on the go. Weather-based themes do something similar, changing with current conditions, so your inbox feels in tune with the day outside.
The new feature sits under Appearance Settings in Outlook, letting users personalize their email environment much like decorating a workspace with art or trinkets. And while it doesn’t add new functionality to the platform, it’s a fun twist that Gmail doesn’t offer (though Chrome does have customizable AI themes). Microsoft hopes these themes will bring a bit of playfulness to the Outlook experience.
Microsoft’s update follows Wednesday’s AI-powered upgrades for Notepad and Paint, now in preview for Windows Insiders. Notepad’s new “Rewrite” tool lets users adjust sentence structure, tone, and length with AI, while Paint gained a Generative Fill option to make edits with text prompts and a Generative Erase feature to remove unwanted objects from images.
These features are rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Italy, and Germany as part of Microsoft’s broader AI push.
