Microsoft ends Copilot support on smart TVs in 2026

Sophie Lindqvist

Microsoft will end Copilot support on all TVs during 2026, according to an on-screen LG notification reported by Windows Central.

The decision came nearly two years after LG and Samsung announced at CES 2025 that their latest smart TVs would include access to Microsoft’s Copilot. It leaves a consumer-facing AI feature without a firm shutdown date, even though both companies had promoted the assistant with their newest televisions.

Windows Central said the notification appeared earlier that day on reporter Zac Bowden’s webOS-powered LG TV. The outlet based its report on that screen, not on a formal announcement from Microsoft, LG, or Samsung. The report therefore documents the decision through an LG notice while leaving the precise rollout and company explanation unstated.

LG’s on-screen notice reads: “Microsoft has recently decided to end support for Copilot functionality on all TVs, including the Copilot-enabled feature available on our LG TVs. As a result, the Copilot-enabled feature on your TV is no longer available and may stop functioning shortly.” The notice does not provide an exact shutdown date.

Windows Central said the feature is “scheduled for discontinuation during 2026.” The final date remains “subject to Microsoft’s timeline,” according to the notification. That separates Microsoft’s completed decision from the still-unspecified moment when functions will fail on individual sets.

What exactly is ending?

Windows Central described Copilot on Samsung and LG smart TVs as an AI-powered companion. Users could chat with it, ask questions about what appeared on screen, or request recommendations for shows and movies. The source does not say Microsoft is ending Copilot everywhere; its notice specifically covers TV functionality and LG’s Copilot-enabled feature.

Three facts define the current status:

• Microsoft has decided to end support for Copilot functionality on all TVs.
• The feature is scheduled for discontinuation during 2026.
• No exact date has been set, and the notice says it remains subject to Microsoft’s timeline.

The wording creates two stages. Microsoft has already decided, and the LG feature is described as unavailable and potentially stopping soon. The broader discontinuation window remains set for 2026. For TV users, that leaves a gap between a reported decision and a final date they can plan around.

In short, the decision is firm, but the practical deadline is not.

How did Copilot reach the television?

LG and Samsung announced the feature at CES 2025, when both companies said their latest smart TVs would offer access to Copilot. Windows Central described the reversal as arriving nearly two years later. The original product treated AI as a conversational companion for television viewing, with functions centered on chat, screen questions, and show recommendations.

On LG’s webOS televisions, Copilot also appeared as a shortcut. According to Windows Central, an update the previous December added that shortcut without giving users an easy way to remove it. The shortcut launched Copilot’s web app inside a browser, giving television users a browser-based route to the assistant.

The shortcut prompted backlash. Many users said LG had added Copilot without their approval, and the company eventually let them delete it.

Windows Central reported that reversal after the unremovable shortcut appeared through a webOS update. The episode exposed a specific consumer-control problem: a TV maker could install an unwanted AI entry point without giving customers a choice.

LG’s change and Microsoft’s later decision affect different layers. LG removed the forced shortcut, while Microsoft now plans to end Copilot’s TV functionality.

The report does not say the browser shortcut and the Copilot-enabled TV feature will disappear at precisely the same moment. That distinction matters because an icon’s removal does not establish when the TV functions will stop.

In short, LG removed the unwanted shortcut; Microsoft is removing the TV experience.

Why does this fit Microsoft’s newer Copilot strategy?

Earlier in 2026, Microsoft introduced a new Copilot “super app” that combines chat, agents, and coding in one interface. Windows Central said the release reflected a push to position Copilot as a business and productivity tool. It also described a simultaneous pull away from presenting Copilot primarily as a digital companion.

The TV feature belongs to that older companion model. Its jobs were conversation, questions about the current screen, and recommendations for what to watch. The new “super app” groups capabilities aimed at work and creation in a broader interface.

Microsoft’s decision to end the TV experience does not amount to a reported shutdown of Copilot itself. It narrows one consumer use case while the company reorganizes the same assistant around a broader productivity proposition.

Windows Central’s account points to a change in product emphasis, not a company-wide AI retreat. The timing supports that reading.

The notification arrived after the “super app” launch, and the report connects Copilot’s newer direction to business use. No source quoted in the Windows Central report gives Microsoft’s reason for ending support on TVs, so the strategic interpretation remains a description of product direction rather than an official explanation.

In short, Microsoft is keeping Copilot broad while dropping its television-focused companion role.

What is confirmed, and what remains unknown?

The strongest confirmation is LG’s own on-screen language. It names Microsoft’s decision, covers all TVs, and provides a 2026 discontinuation window. The weakest point is timing: the notice gives no day and reserves the schedule to Microsoft. The report also says the news did not come from an official announcement by LG, Samsung, or Microsoft.

The report does not specify several details users would need:

• Whether the TV functions fail immediately, gradually, or on a model-by-model schedule.
• Whether Samsung’s Copilot implementation receives the same notice or cutoff date.
• Whether the LG browser shortcut disappears at the same time as the Copilot-enabled feature.
• Whether Microsoft plans any replacement, successor, or alternative access on televisions.

Microsoft also gives no reason in the notice for ending support. The report does not describe costs, technical problems, low usage, or a broader device policy.

It presents the discontinuation as a completed decision with an uncertain date. That means outside explanations remain speculation, even though the direction itself comes directly from the television screen.

For LG, the ending follows another reversal driven by user frustration. The company first made a forced Copilot shortcut removable, and Microsoft now plans to end Copilot functionality on the television itself. That sequence makes consent and disclosure concrete issues for TV makers.

In short, the feature’s future is settled, but its final shutdown mechanics are not.

What happens next?

The next concrete milestone is an exact 2026 cutoff date from Microsoft. Until then, users cannot know how long Copilot will answer screen questions, recommend programs, or accept chat on a particular television. The Windows Central report provides no model-specific guidance from LG or Samsung.

The strategic question is whether Copilot’s productivity push leads to a different television offering later. The report names no replacement, so that outcome remains open. For consumers, the immediate issue is direct: a feature promoted at CES 2025 is scheduled to disappear during 2026, without a promised final date.

Microsoft’s notice supplies the decision and the year. The next useful update would supply the date and explain what, if anything, replaces Copilot on those sets. Until that happens, TV buyers have a dated support window but no precise deadline.