Microsoft 365 People, File Search, and Calendar Companion apps now available for Windows 11



 Microsoft 365 Insider Blog

Hi, everyone! I’m Shilpa Patel, and I’m a Product Manager on the Microsoft 365 team. Recently, we launched three new apps designed to reduce friction and help you stay in the flow at work: People, File Search, and Calendar. I’m excited to share that these apps are now available to ALL Insiders – Beta Channel and Current Channel (Preview) users.

Stay in the flow with Microsoft 365 Companion apps​

Your workdays are a whirlwind. One minute you’re deep in a document, the next you’re jumping into a meeting, replying to a chat, or hunting down that one file you swear you just had open. Every click into a new window and every “Where was I?” moment chips away at your focus. That’s where the new Companion apps come in.

Many of you have wondered and asked: “What’s the need for these apps, when I can do all of these actions today in other apps?“

Think of the Microsoft 365 Companion apps as your personal productivity pit crew. Just like a Formula 1 team keeps the car running at peak performance, these Companion apps are always there, working behind the scenes, ensuring you stay efficient, organized, and in control – so you can focus on winning the day instead of searching for documents or meetings.

And the best part? They are sleek, simple, and compact.

Unlike a traditional Microsoft app, these apps are small (but still mighty!), allowing you to do your most common and repetitive actions, without losing the context of what’s on your screen.

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How they work​

With just one click, you can pop open People, File Search, or Calendar, get what you need, and get back to what you were doing – no major detours or distractions, and no more tedious context switching.

Here’s how each app keeps you in the zone:
  • People: View valuable contextual information about people in your organization, search contacts, and send messages.
  • File Search: Search for files by more than just their name and preview a file before sharing it.
  • Calendar: Peek at your day or week and respond to meeting invites and chats.
These apps have a comfortable and familiar flow that’s easy to adopt, but in a lightning fast and streamlined format. And by pining them to your taskbar, you always know where to access them. Learn more about People and File Search, and Calendar.

Availability​

The Companion apps are available for Windows 11 users who have Microsoft 365 desktop apps installed, are part of M365 Insiders (Current Channel (Preview)), and are on either Enterprise or Business SKUs. 

If you are an admin, learn more about admin controls and deployment schedule here.

Feedback​

We’d love to hear what you think of these apps! Let us know by selecting the Feedback button in the upper right-hand corner of People, File Search, or Calendar.


 Source:

 
Potentially a worthwhile update for users who use their computer for work related purposes. But for someone like me who is retired these apps are of limited or no value. If you want to stop these apps from starting with Windows go into the respective apps on the Task bar, click the 3 dots ... and disable the start with Windows toggle.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26120.4230
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus ProArt Z790 Creator WiFi - Bios 2703
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 64gb 5600MT/s DDR5 Dual Channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Vapor-X 24GB
    Sound Card
    External DAC - Headphone Amplifier: Cambridge Audio DACMagic200M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasonic MX950 Mini LED 55" TV 120hz
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160 120hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB (OS)
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Files)
    Lexar NZ790 4TB
    LaCie d2 Professional 6TB external - USB 3.1
    Seagate One Touch 18TB external HD - USB 3.0
    PSU
    Corsair RM1200x Shift
    Case
    Corsair RGB Smart Case 5000x (white)
    Cooling
    Corsair iCue H150i Elite Capellix XT
    Keyboard
    Logitech K860
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    Fibre 900/500 Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    AMD Radeon Software & Drivers 25.5.1
    AOMEI Backupper Pro
    Dashlane password manager
    Logitech Brio 4K Webcam
    Orico 10-port powered USB 3.0 hub
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Vivobook X1605VA
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i9-13900H
    Motherboard
    Asus X1605VA bios 309
    Memory
    32GB DDR4-3200 Dual channel
    Graphics card(s)
    *Intel Iris Xᵉ Graphics G7 (96EU) 32.0.101.6078
    Sound Card
    Realtek | Intel SST Bluetooth & USB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.0-inch, WUXGA 16:10 aspect ratio, IPS-level Panel
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 60hz
    Hard Drives
    512GB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 SSD
    Other Info
    720p Webcam
Odd how home users always excluded
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i9 14900KF
    Motherboard
    Asus z790 ProArt Creator WiFi
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI 4090 Suprim X
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 x Asus 24". 1 x Asus 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Multiple
    PSU
    Corsair 1200HX
    Case
    Corsair 7000D RGB
    Cooling
    Corsair H150I Capellix XT
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB MK.2
    Mouse
    Corsair M55 RGB Pro
    Internet Speed
    1000Mb/s
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Default
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