COPILOT CHAT DISAPPEAR

K G 15 Reputation points
2026-04-17T15:58:47.8866667+00:00

Yesterday I just typed in a chat thread that I kept, and then in the next session it disappeared. I tried contacting support, signing in and out, restarting computer, but nothing helped. Now today, a lot more chats have disappeared! Those were important threads I needed to go back to!

This is not the first time it happened. Last month the same thing happened, I reported it, but nobody got back to mem.

Microsoft Copilot | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-17T15:59:05.9966667+00:00

    Conversation history in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot is stored and surfaced differently depending on where the chat is happening and how settings are configured. Several things can cause chats to appear to “disappear,” even though the service is working as designed.

    Key things to check and try:

    1. Confirm where the chats were created
    • Copilot has different experiences (for example, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat at https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat vs. copilot.com or Copilot in Windows/macOS/mobile).
    • Conversation history is not shared across all these surfaces. A chat started in one experience may not appear in another.
    • If the missing threads were in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, go directly to Copilot Chat, sign in with the same work or school account, and check the Conversations list there.
    1. Check the Conversations list and “All conversations”
    • In Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat:
      1. Go to Copilot Chat and sign in with the same Microsoft 365 work or school account used previously.
      2. Locate the Conversations list.
      3. Select All conversations to ensure only a subset is not being filtered.
      4. Select any conversation to reopen and continue it.
    • If a specific thread is missing from this list, it has either been deleted or was never stored in this particular Copilot experience.
    1. Verify that Temporary Chat was not used
    • Microsoft 365 Copilot supports Temporary chat, which:
      • Does not use or update Copilot Memory.
      • Does not appear in chat history.
      • Cannot be referenced or accessed later by the user or Copilot.
    • If the missing conversations were started as Temporary chat, they will not show in history by design.
    • To avoid this for future important threads, start standard chats instead of Temporary chat (do not choose Temporary chat from the Start a new chat dropdown).
    1. Check chat history and personalization settings
    • Microsoft 365 Copilot has a Chat history personalization toggle:
      • If Chat history personalization is turned off, Copilot still shows past conversations in the history list, but it does not use them for personalization.
      • Turning this toggle off deletes Copilot’s inferences from previous chats and schedules them for removal from the Copilot system after 30 days.
      • If the toggle was turned off recently, some remembered context may be removed, but the basic conversation list should still be visible unless conversations were explicitly deleted.
    • To review this setting:
      1. In Copilot Chat, select … Copilot chats and more in the top right.
      2. Select Settings.
      3. In Chat settings, select Personalization.
      4. In the Chat history tile, confirm the toggle state.
    1. Consider retention and time limits
    • For Copilot at copilot.com and in some other Copilot experiences, conversation history is retained for up to 18 months.
    • If any of the missing chats are older than that, they may have aged out of conversation history.
    1. Check for deletion of specific conversations
    • In Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, individual conversations can be deleted:
      • In the Conversations list, selecting … More next to a conversation and choosing Delete removes it from chat history.
      • Deleted conversations will not reappear.
    • If “clear activity history” or similar actions were taken (for example, following guidance like “Delete your Microsoft 365 Copilot activity history”), that can remove past chats.
    1. If the issue persists
    • If chats are disappearing within days, are not Temporary chats, and are not older than the retention period, this may be a service or account-specific issue.
    • For technical support (beyond what can be done in the product UI), use Microsoft Support as indicated in the Copilot FAQ: visit Microsoft Support and provide details including:
      • Which Copilot surface was used (Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, copilot.com, Windows, etc.).
      • Approximate dates/times of missing chats.
      • Whether Temporary chat or any deletion/cleanup actions were used.

    For future important threads, consider:

    • Verifying that the chat is a standard (non-temporary) chat so it appears in history.
    • Periodically adding key conversations to Copilot Notebooks (where available) using Add to Notebook from the … More menu on a conversation.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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