Copilot Chat shows three dots in classic Outlook for Windows

Applies To
Outlook for Microsoft 365

Last Updated: July, 24, 2026

ISSUE

When a user selects Copilot chat in classic Outlook for Windows, the chat window displays three dots. Selecting the Copilot button on the app bar yields a similar unexpected result.

To reproduce this issue

In classic Outlook for Windows, select the Copilot chat button in the ribbon. The resulting page fails to display properly and instead shows three dots:

The screenshot shows the issue of Copilot not loading in classic Outlook for Windows, and only showing three dots.

Similarly, selecting Copilot on the app bar fails to render as expected and instead the client displays three dots:

The screenshot shows an example of Copilot from the app bar not loading and only showing three dots in classic Outlook for Windows.

STATUS: INVESTIGATING

This issue is currently under investigation by Microsoft Engineering. We will update this article as more information becomes available.

WORKAROUND

  1. Close the classic Outlook client and other Office apps.
  2. Locate and rename this folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef to wef.old.
  3. Restart classic Outlook. Outlook will recreate a new Wef folder automatically, forcing web add-ins to reload and download fresh cache data.
  4. Verify the user is signed into Office with the licensed account with the Copilot License assigned.

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See Also

Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in classic Outlook for Windows