Microsoft Shifts Focus to Copilot AI as It Phases Out Microsoft Lens—Here’s What You Need to Know
Microsoft’s dumping another legacy product—this time, it’s Microsoft Lens getting the axe as the tech giant pushes users toward its shiny new Copilot AI. Because nothing says 'innovation' like forcing customers onto your latest cash-grab platform.
Active sunset in progress: The document-scanning app’s days are numbered, with Microsoft redirecting traffic to its AI-powered alternative. No transition discounts offered—because when has Big Tech ever rewarded loyalty?
Copilot or walk the plank: Users are being herded toward Microsoft’s generative AI tool whether they like it or not. Early adopters report the usual teething problems—because when has an AI rollout ever gone smoothly?
Another one bites the dust: This follows Microsoft’s pattern of aggressively sunsetting products to push higher-margin services. Stockholders cheer while users groan—the Silicon Valley circle of life continues.
Microsoft discontinues its Lens application
According to the company, existing users with accounts will still be able to use the application on their mobile phones even after it leaves the application stores of both devices. However, there is a deadline on December 15, with Microsoft noting that no new scans will be allowed after the date. The company also noted that users will still be allowed to retain access to their previous scans as long as they don’t delete the app.
Launched in 2015, Microsoft Lens (originally called Office Lens) moved from an application that was originally created to serve users of the Windows Phone. While it maintained the same mobile scanning features as other applications, the application did not charge users for providing new features and other functionalities. It also did not try to push them into a subscription-based model, a rare feature in today’s market.
Instead of charging users, the application carried out the task of turning any kind of notes into any kind of file, like PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and images. It also provided users with built-in features to help them enhance the resultant images, lightening the document and turning it into a sharper black and WHITE copy, and many more. Users were also allowed to save the file on one of Microsoft’s applications, other online services, or to their camera roll.
Users advised to switch to the Copilot AI app
The latest development was first discovered by Bleeping Computer, after the website reported that users were being directed to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which had none of the functionalities that Lens provided.
While Copilot can handle scanning, it doesn’t allow users to save these scans directly to OneNote, Word, or PowerPoint. It also doesn’t save business card scans to OneNote. The site also mentioned that it lacked the read-out-loud and Immersive Reader features.
“Existing scans will remain accessible in the app’s MyScans folder, but this functionality will no longer be supported. Users can continue scanning using the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which offers similar functionality. Scans saved to OneDrive will be accessible via the MyCreations section in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app,” the company said.
This update is coming after a similar update from Microsoft, where it announced the removal of the Windows Paint 3D graphics app from the Microsoft Store in November 2024.
Despite being fairly old, Lens is still quite popular across both iOS and Android mobile devices. In the last 30 days, the application has recorded more than 322,000 downloads on the App Store and Google Play.
According to data from app intelligence provider Appfigures, the application has been downloaded 92.3 million times since January 2017. According to Bleeping Computer, on Google Play, the application has an average rating of 4.9/5 from around 9952 reviews, while it has around 136,000 ratings on Apple’s App Store.
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