Microsoft Is Ending Copilot on Smart TVs: What the LG Notification Confirms

Microsoft is ending Copilot support on smart TVs, according to a notification that popped up on an LG TV on October 28, 2026. The Verge reports, citing Windows Central, that the message appeared on the webOS-powered LG TV of Windows Central's Zac Bowden. It says Microsoft "has recently decided to end support for Copilot functionality on all TVs," and that the feature "may stop functioning shortly."

The key caveat is where the news comes from. It is not an announcement from LG, Samsung or Microsoft. It is an on-screen notice, relayed by two outlets. That makes this a story with a solid source for what the notice says and no source yet for why or exactly when.

TL;DR: what is confirmed and what is not

What does the notification say?

The Verge quotes the on-screen text: "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." It adds that the feature is "scheduled for discontinuation during 2026" and that a specific date is "subject to Microsoft's timeline."

Two things stand out. First, the wording says Microsoft made the decision, which puts the discontinuation on Microsoft's side rather than LG's. Second, the notice already says the feature "is no longer available", yet also says it "may stop functioning shortly", so the exact state of the feature on any given TV is unclear. We cannot verify behavior on specific sets from here.

How did Copilot get on TVs in the first place?

The tie-up was announced at CES 2025, when LG and Samsung said their latest smart TVs would include access to Microsoft Copilot, a story covered by outlets including 9to5Google. On TVs, Copilot was meant to be a companion you could talk to, ask about what was on screen, or use for show and movie recommendations, according to The Verge.

The rollout was bumpy. In December 2025, an LG webOS update added a Copilot shortcut to some TVs that could not be removed, which opened the web app in a browser. Windows Central ran a story on owners baffled by it, and LG later said it would let people delete the shortcut. Later reporting said the presence was implemented as a browser shortcut rather than a native embedded app, which matters for judging how much was ever integrated on the device itself.

Samsung took a different route, adding Copilot to many 2025 TVs and smart monitors by firmware update from late August 2025, per coverage at the time.

Timeline: from CES announcement to shutdown notice

Read as a sequence, the arc is short: roughly 22 months from announcement to an end-of-support notice, with the most visible moment in between being a complaint about how hard the feature was to remove. That is a fast cycle for a headline CES partnership, and it is worth remembering when a vendor promises an AI assistant "built into" a device.

What questions should LG and Samsung answer?

Because the information so far comes from a pop-up, several practical points are unresolved, and owners and reviewers should ask:

• Is there a firmware change? If the shortcut stays on the home screen but points to a dead service, owners will want a clean way to remove it, not an error page.
• What happens to voice-button behavior? Some remotes have a dedicated assistant button. It matters whether that button falls back to another assistant or does nothing.
• What about data? Any conversation history or settings tied to the TV feature should have a clear deletion path.
• Will the discontinuation be region-specific? Smart-TV features roll out country by country, and shutdowns often follow the same uneven pattern.
• Does anything replace it? Neither manufacturer has said whether a different assistant will take the slot.

None of these has an answer in the reporting we have seen, which is why we label this as an unconfirmed-timing story rather than a finished one.

Why would Microsoft pull back?

Microsoft has not said, so this section is our reading of context, not fact. The Verge points to one piece: earlier this year Microsoft introduced a new Copilot "super app" that bundled chat, agents and coding into a single interface, a push toward positioning Copilot as a business and productivity tool rather than a digital companion.

Three other pressures are plausible, and none is confirmed:

1. Cost per query. A free voice assistant on a TV generates frequent, low-value requests. Our coverage of Microsoft's token-cost push shows how much attention the company pays to cost per answer.
2. Focus. Microsoft has been reshaping around enterprise AI, including Copilot enterprise discounts and a seat-plus-usage model and a voluntary buyout offer to about 60,000 employees. A TV companion is far from that core.
3. Backlash. The unremovable-shortcut episode gave the TV placement bad press for little upside.

Satya Nadella's own framing of Copilot's value centered on business returns, as we covered in his ROIC and intelligence-app remarks. A living-room chatbot does not fit that story.

What does this mean for AI builders?

The episode is a small case study in distributing an assistant through hardware you do not control.

• Distribution is not retention. Being preinstalled or pinned to a remote button gives reach, not usage. Without a reason to talk to a TV, an assistant becomes a shortcut people want removed.
• Third-party hardware means third-party timelines. A notification on someone else's firmware is how users learned the feature was ending. If you ship through partners, plan how you will communicate end of life, and who owns that message.
• Browser shortcuts are fragile. An assistant that is really a link to a web app can be switched off server-side without a firmware update.
• Ambient assistants raise privacy questions. A TV assistant that answers questions about what is on screen raises the same data-handling issues we see across consumer AI. Be explicit about what is sent and stored.
• Consumer and enterprise strategies diverge. The same product name can serve both, but resources follow the business case.

What should TV owners do?

1. Check the notification text if you see one, and note the date; it may be your only notice.
2. Remove the Copilot shortcut if you do not want it. After the December 2025 backlash, LG said owners would be able to delete it; look in your home screen edit mode and install the latest webOS update.
3. Review voice and viewing-data settings. Smart TVs collect more than people expect; turn off voice features and personalized advertising you do not use.
4. Do not expect a refund or replacement feature. Nothing we found promises one. A TV's AI assistant is typically a free feature with no guaranteed lifetime.
5. Watch for official statements from Microsoft, LG and Samsung that give a date and say whether alternatives will replace it.

What we still do not know

• The date. "During 2026" leaves roughly two months.
• Samsung. The reported notice was on an LG set. Samsung's Copilot rollout covered many TVs and monitors, but we found no statement about it.
• Alternatives. Neither LG nor Samsung has said whether another assistant will take Copilot's place.
• Whether the notice is global. Regional rollouts of TV features often differ.
• Microsoft's reasoning. No spokesperson quote appeared in the reporting we read.

This is one of those stories where the first signal is a pop-up on a screen, and the confirmation arrives later. We will update this post if Microsoft, LG or Samsung publishes details.

Accurate as of October 28, 2026, based on The Verge's report and earlier coverage. We could not open the Windows Central original.

Related reading

• Microsoft Copilot enterprise discounts and seat-plus-usage pricing
• Microsoft offers buyouts to 60,000 employees
• Microsoft token wars: cutting cost per answer
• Satya Nadella on ROIC and the intelligence app
• Microsoft Foundry naming explained
• Microsoft MAI-Image-2.7 preview
• Official: The Verge report