Microsoft Office is getting a redesign - check out the biggest changes in the apps
The classic ribbon across the top, where menu options like 'Home' and 'Insert' exist, will be condensed to simplify the look so that it isn't all or nothing the way it is now.
Collaboration commands will all be in the upper right-hand corner inside Office documents.
Collaborators will be represented by an avatar and a color, so that each person's cursor can be identified using that designated color as everyone edits the same document — similar to the way it is in Google's G Suite apps.
The icons for all of the commands that you see in the toolbar — copy, paste, print, folder, for example — will be updated so that the graphics are more "crisp" for larger screens.
These will also only appear in the Word for Office.com at first, but they'll roll out a little further than the simplified ribbon when they go to Windows: the aforementioned select Insiders will see the updated icons in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows later this month.
Outlook for Windows will get the icons in July and Outlook for Mac will get them in August.
AI-powered search will bring up recommendations on actions, content or people you're looking for, based on your work habits, right when you place your cursor in the query box.
This is already available to some commercial users of Office.com and the Outlook mobile app.
Users can toggle the "Coming Soon" option for more control over the changes as they take affect, and open it up (as shown below) to learn more about the updates or share feedback on them
Here's a video that showcases the updates, featuring Office chief designer Jon Friedman.
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