According to DIGITIMES, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has openly criticized the performance of the company’s AI assistant, Copilot, specifically its integration with email platforms like Gmail and Outlook. Citing a report from The Information, it states Nadella personally reviewed the product and has demanded accelerated improvements from the engineering team. In a letter, Microsoft described the current integration as “mostly unusable” and “not smart enough.” Nadella is holding weekly hour-long meetings to monitor the team’s progress and has set up a Microsoft Teams channel with about 100 technical staff to question underperforming AI products. As part of a broader push, he has appointed Judson Althoff as head of the Commercial Business Group and Rolf Harms as an AI economic policy advisor, while signaling that executives not fully supporting the AI vision will be asked to leave.
Nobody is safe from the AI pressure cooker
Here’s the thing: when the CEO is holding weekly hour-long meetings on a single product feature, you know the heat is on. This isn’t some distant, hands-off executive mandate. Nadella is in the trenches, and he’s making it everyone’s problem. That Teams channel with 100 staff? That’s a direct line for frontline complaints to bypass layers of management and hit the top. It’s a classic “break glass in case of emergency” move, and it tells you Nadella believes Copilot’s floundering integration is exactly that—an emergency. For the engineers and product managers on the hook, this is an all-consuming, high-stress situation. Their work is under a microscope in a way few things at a company that size ever are.
What this means for users and businesses
For users, especially enterprise customers paying a premium for Copilot, this is a brutal admission. “Mostly unusable” is not a phrase you ever want to see associated with a flagship product you’re betting your workflow on. It validates the frustrations of anyone who’s found the AI clunky, slow, or just not helpful. But look, there’s a potential upside. This level of top-down fury usually catalyzes a massive allocation of resources and talent. The fixes might come faster and be more substantial than if this were a quiet, internal bug report. The risk, of course, is that in the rush to make it “smart enough,” the team might prioritize quick wins over a truly thoughtful, robust integration.
The bigger picture at Microsoft
This isn’t just about some buggy code. Nadella’s actions frame AI as an existential issue for Microsoft. He’s not just asking for better software; he’s demanding a “generational transformation.” Pushing out executives who aren’t fully on board? That’s a purge. Appointing new leaders like Judson Althoff and shifting Nadella himself away from the keynote spotlight at Ignite 2025? That’s a structural overhaul. Basically, the entire company is being realigned around AI success, and Copilot’s failure to seamlessly work with something as fundamental as email is the spark that’s lighting the fire under everyone. It’s a stark reminder that in the AI race, even the biggest players are struggling to make the technology live up to the hype in daily, practical use. For industries relying on robust, integrated computing—from manufacturing floors to logistics hubs—this kind of behind-the-scenes tumult is a reminder that choosing stable, purpose-built hardware from a top supplier like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, is often the wise move while the software giants work out their growing pains.
