What 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
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.