Microsoft Copilot now helps subscription users create personal themes in Outlook using generative AI. In what Microsoft says is “the first instance of dynamic AI-generated theming in productivity applications,” Copilot can now display inboxes against dynamic backdrops based on geography, the weather, or anything else users can imagine. The new feature is available across all popular platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and the Web. Just like you might “spruce up your office with artwork or plants,” Copilot lets AI enhance your digital environment, according to Microsoft.

“While both Microsoft and Google have been working to bring AI-powered productivity features to their email services, Gmail does not currently offer AI themes (Chrome does), which means Outlook users now have a bit more creative freedom,” writes TechCrunch.

“How your personality and tastes are represented in an app plays a significant role in how you engage with it and how it makes you feel,” Microsoft suggests in a blog post.

In addition to business users, the feature is available to consumers with a Microsoft Copilot Pro subscription, “which costs $20 a month and includes access to Copilot in other Office apps such as Word, PowerPoint, and Teams,” says Windows Central.

You can decide if you want your personal Outlook theme to update every few hours, daily, weekly or monthly. And “once you generate a theme, you can choose to view it in a realistic, oil painting, or cartoon style,” TechCrunch points out.

Subscribers can turn on Themes by Copilot by choosing Appearance Settings in Outlook. Beneath the header, there are one-click topic thumbnails, or you can select the “custom theme” tile to create a unique theme based on a topic and style of your choosing.

“This isn’t merely a make-over for Outlook; it reflects a broader trend in integrating artificial intelligence into daily workflows,” according to Microsoft’s Windows Forum, which heralds “a shift toward personalized digital environments where software adapts to user moods and preferences,” and says Microsoft is positioning its apps as “not just functional but experiential.”