There seems to be a fresh requirement to run Microsoft’s free new Outlook app for Windows 10 and 11. According to MSPowerUser, you need to have Microsoft’s Edge browser installed and running in order to access your emails in Outlook. The new requirement was discovered by users on the online forum Reddit, where they posted images of the error message saying that the new version of Outlook requires you to have Edge installed.
The crux of the matter seems to be that Outlook uses Microsoft Edge Webview 2 for certain web functions. Most people will have Edge installed as part of the default Windows setup, but you may need to reinstall it if you’ve chosen to delete Edge previously.
In addition to the requirement to have Microsoft’s own browser installed, Outlook has also gained some new AI features. You will soon be able to use the chatbot Copilot to book meetings directly from email threads in Outlook. Copilot will be able to create invitations with a suitable name for the meeting, an agenda, a summary of the email thread on which the meeting is based, and a list of participants.
The “Schedule with Copilot” feature will be launched as part of Microsoft’s Preview program in March, with the real public launch will be in May. However, you will need to be a Microsoft 365 subscriber to use the new AI feature.
