June 11, 2026, 10:23 am | Read time: 3 minutes
At its Build developer conference in early June 2026, Microsoft introduced a new AI assistant called Scout. The tool is set to be integrated directly into Microsoft 365 and autonomously handle various office tasks. However, even before its planned market launch, the project is sparking discussions. The background is leaked internal documents that provide insights into the strategy surrounding the new AI product.
Scout is already being used extensively internally
According to a report by the online magazine “404Media,” Scout is being developed under the leadership of Omar Shahine, Corporate Vice President of Scout at Microsoft. The company has been testing the software internally since March 2026. More than 1,000 employees are said to use the assistant daily, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
According to the documents, Scout is generating significant interest within the company and is spreading internally largely without additional advertising efforts.
Controversial strategy and data privacy issues
A section from the leaked documents is being critically evaluated. There, the first of three phases for the product’s introduction is titled “Make people addicted.” Translated, this means “Make people addicted.”
The wording has apparently caused discontent internally. According to 404Media, several employees expressed concerns about such a goal. In their view, dependency should not be part of product development. Critics compare the described mechanisms to methods used by social networks to keep users on their platforms as long as possible.
For tasks like expense reports or flight bookings, Scout requires extensive access to sensitive information. According to the leaked papers, security and compliance issues are not being prioritized. This point, in particular, could lead to additional criticism. After all, the system is intended to be deeply integrated into work processes and act autonomously.
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Microsoft CEO distances himself
As reported by the online magazine “The Information,” Satya Nadella has since responded to the reports. In an internal message, the Microsoft CEO stated that he neither knows which document is being referred to nor who wrote and distributed “this nonsense.” According to him, Microsoft pursues the opposite of the described strategy. The goal is to support people and businesses with AI. Nadella even suggested that the author of the strategy paper and the leaker consider changing employers.
However, 404Media questions the public surprise within the company. According to the report, the document in question was authored by senior Microsoft managers. It was written by Omar Shahine and manager Jakob Werner together with an AI tool. According to the paper, however, every single sentence was reviewed by humans.
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Additionally, Microsoft prominently presented Scout at the Build conference. Therefore, critics find it unlikely that the contents of a market introduction strategy were developed without the knowledge of other decision-makers.
Is Scout facing a similar fate as Recall?
There has been no public statement from Microsoft regarding the leaks so far. Nevertheless, the incident could complicate the introduction of Scout. The AI project Recall already faced criticism after its presentation at the Build conference in 2024.
At that time, data privacy concerns were at the forefront. Microsoft had to repeatedly revise the product before its launch on Copilot+ devices. Authorities also scrutinized the tool. Today, Recall is considered a failure.
With Scout, Microsoft could now be facing another challenging situation. The tool is intended to deeply integrate into users’ workflows and is now also facing criticism over the leaked strategy papers.