Microsoft Has Retired Word's Smart Lookup Feature—Here's Its Potential Alternative

Microsoft Word's Smart Lookup: Gone, But Not Forgotten?

Microsoft's Smart Lookup, a handy tool for quickly defining words and phrases within Word documents, has been discontinued as of January 1, 2025. This leaves many users searching for a suitable replacement.

Why the Change?

Introduced in Office 2016, Smart Lookup provided instant definitions and information via internet searches. However, Microsoft's support pages now confirm its retirement. While no official explanation has been given, the move strongly suggests a shift towards Microsoft Copilot, the company's AI-powered assistant. Microsoft aims to consolidate functionality within Copilot, requiring a Microsoft 365 subscription for access. Users with perpetual licenses or LTSC releases will miss out on this integration.

Copilot: A Suitable Replacement? Not Yet.

Currently, Copilot in Word doesn't offer a direct Smart Lookup equivalent. Its functions, including "Write a Prompt," "Auto Rewrite," and "Visualize as a Table," don't replicate Smart Lookup's quick definition capabilities.

However, given Microsoft's investment in AI, a Copilot feature mirroring Smart Lookup's functionality is likely on the horizon. This future iteration could offer richer responses and interactive follow-up questions.

For now, users must resort to manual online searches (e.g., Google) for definitions. This less convenient workaround is the only immediate alternative.

The Future of Word Features

Smart Lookup is unlikely to be the last feature removed from Word. Other features such as "Read Aloud," "Translate," and "Thesaurus" may also be phased out in favor of Copilot integration. For users unwilling to adopt Copilot or a Microsoft 365 subscription, switching to alternative office suites like LibreOffice might be the only recourse.

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