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Microsoft disables predictive text by default in Word and Outlook

Microsoft disables predictive text by default in Word and Outlook this week, ending a feature that has automatically finished sentences since 2020. The feature isn't going away. Starting with specific app builds, people will need to turn it on themselves instead of switching it off, according to BetaNews and The Register.

The change applies to Word for Windows, the web, Android, and iOS, plus classic Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac, according to heise online. The supplied announcement and reporting do not identify new Outlook or Outlook on the web as part of this specific default change; those two apps come up in this story only because that's where the predictive-text toggle happens to live in their settings menus.

Microsoft hasn't published a general rollout date. Timing will show up through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and release notes instead, Computerworld reports. Having a qualifying app installed doesn't confirm the switch has already reached your account.

The rollout breaks down like this:

• Confirmed part of this change: Word for Windows, web, Android, and iOS; classic Outlook for Windows; Outlook for Mac
• Not identified as part of this change: new Outlook and Outlook on the web, since neither app appears on Microsoft's list of affected products
• Already unaffected: some Outlook for Android and iOS installs that already ship with predictions off by default

Which builds actually trigger the new default

Microsoft introduced text predictions in Microsoft Editor for Word and Outlook in 2020. Suggestions appear as grayed-out text as you type, and you accept them with Tab or the right-arrow key. They came switched on by default in the apps named above, heise online reports.

Microsoft's announcement lists exact version thresholds for where the new off-by-default behavior begins, as reported by heise online:

Word for the web is on Microsoft's list of affected apps, but the company hasn't published a matching version number for it. That's a gap in the supplied information rather than proof browser users have no way to check; there's simply no build threshold to compare yet on that platform.

One exception applies: some versions of Outlook for Android and iOS already ship with predictions off by default, heise online notes. Those installs aren't expected to see any change, since they're already running the setting Microsoft is introducing for the affected apps.

Checking your build number against the table above is the way to tell whether this applies to you yet. Open the app's About or Settings screen, compare the version, and treat anything below these thresholds as still running the old default, meaning predictions are likely still on if you never touched the setting.

Why Microsoft is flipping the switch

Microsoft frames the change as giving users more say over their writing experience. The company said it is "making an update to the default text predictions experience in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook, giving you more control over whether you receive suggestions as you type," BetaNews quotes.

Some users find the suggestions helpful, Microsoft says, while others find them distracting, and its stated goal is to keep predictions available for the first group while cutting "unwanted interruptions" for the second, per the same BetaNews report. Microsoft also described the move as a consistency play, saying it wants "to provide a more consistent and user-controlled writing experience across Microsoft 365 applications," according to BetaNews.

The Register noted that Microsoft didn't say whether internal usage data or user complaints drove the reversal. Google made a similar move in the other direction years ago, launching its own predictive tool, Smart Compose, in Gmail in 2018, per The Register.

Microsoft Word and Outlook predictive text turned off by default: how to re-enable it

Where the toggle lives depends on the app.

Those paths come from heise online's reporting and BetaNews on Microsoft's announcement. Microsoft has not published exact paths for every platform in the supplied information, so for Word and Outlook for Mac specifically, searching Settings directly for "Text Predictions" is currently the only verified way to find the toggle.

Once turned on, the behavior itself doesn't change: suggestions still appear as grayed-out text while typing, and pressing Tab or the right-arrow key accepts them, heise online reports.

What's still unclear, and what to do next

Two questions remain open, and the supplied reporting doesn't resolve either one.

Timing is the first. Microsoft has said rollout details will appear in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and release notes rather than a public schedule, Computerworld reports. The supplied reports don't provide a date for that notice. Running a build above the thresholds listed earlier makes an account eligible for the new default; it isn't proof the setting has already flipped on any given install.

The second is what happens to settings people already changed. Computerworld notes that it's unclear whether the update resets predictions that are already turned on, or whether the new default applies only to fresh installs and profiles that never touched the toggle. Microsoft's announcement doesn't address this directly.

Microsoft says predictive text will remain available in the affected apps; reaching it now just takes a deliberate click instead of being enabled automatically, per BetaNews.

Users who rely on predictions should check the setting after the relevant Word or Outlook update, comparing their build number against the table above. Microsoft has not said whether existing enabled preferences will be preserved, so that toggle is worth confirming rather than assuming it carried over.