Microsoft Word for the web: Retirement of the "@" entity insertion experience on the document canvas
Versions captured by this deployment. Earlier versions and notices may be missing; first observed is not first published.
Action date
Microsoft tags this a retirement but gives no action date in the notice metadata. Any date is in the text below.
- Microsoft's start date
- 23 Sep 2026
- Last changed by Microsoft
- 23 Sep 2026
- First seen here
- 19 Oct 2026
- Versions seen
- 1
What the notice says
Microsoft's text, with its sections, lists and tables; source markup removedWhat and why
Microsoft is retiring the CIQ-based "@" entity insertion experience on the document canvas in Word for the web. This retirement aligns Word for the web with the experience available in other Microsoft 365 applications, including Word desktop, Excel, and PowerPoint, where this entry point is no longer available.
As part of this change, users will no longer be able to invoke the CIQ menu from the document canvas by typing "@". This retirement does not affect @mentions in comments.
Rollout schedule
- Retirement (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): Beginning in late October 2026 and expected to complete by late October 2026
Impact on your organization
Who is affected
- Users who currently use the CIQ "@" menu in Word for the web to search for and insert entities into documents
Platforms and services
- Word for the web
What will happen
- The CIQ-based "@" entry point on the document canvas will be removed from Word for the web.
- Users will no longer be able to use the legacy CIQ menu to search for and insert entities from the document canvas.
- No replacement experience is included as part of this retirement.
- @mentions in comments are not affected and will continue to work as before.
- This change aligns Word for the web with Word desktop, Excel, and PowerPoint, where this entry point is no longer available.
- No admin controls are available to enable, disable, or postpone this change.
Action required and recommendations
No admin action is required.
We recommend that administrators:
- Inform affected users about the retirement of this feature.
- Review and update internal documentation, training materials, and support content that reference the CIQ "@" insertion experience.
- Remove any internal guidance or workflows that depend on the CIQ entity insertion menu.
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
What changed
Between the versions this installation saw, newest firstThis installation has seen one version of this notice, first on 19 Oct 2026. Later changes will show here.
Linked documentation
Microsoft pages the notice links toThe notice links to no Microsoft Learn or Support page that this installation reads.
Not confirmed here
What this page cannot tell you- Whether your tenant is affected: this is Microsoft's notice, not a check of your settings.
- Versions before 19 Oct 2026: this installation first saw the notice after Microsoft posted it.