Microsoft Ditches Default Predictive Text in Outlook and Word

Microsoft has made a change to its popular software tools, Outlook and Word. The company announced in a blog post on September 1 that it would no longer have default text suggestions enabled for these applications.

The decision is part of Microsoft's efforts to provide users with a more consistent and user-controlled writing experience across its Microsoft 365 applications. By disabling the default predictive text feature, users will no longer receive unwanted suggestions while typing.

This change affects desktop versions of Outlook and Word on both Mac and Windows, as well as their web editions. It may also impact mobile versions on Android or iOS, although some already have the tool disabled by default.

While there are a few complaints about the predictive text feature across social media, it doesn't appear to be a widely cited problem. Microsoft has offered users the option to turn off the feature for a while now, and those who disliked it likely did so soon after launch.