• by Laurie Sullivan , 2 hours ago

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella publicly criticized a leaked internal memo viewed on a message board after a news outlet spotted a three-phase plan to make users "addicted" to the company’s new AI assistant Scout.

Nadella initially called the information in the leaked document "nonsense” and a “non-goal” for the company

Historically, advertisers have chased clicks, screentime and scrolling. Because Scout AI is an autonomous agent that can execute tasks in the background, addiction or something similar could become the next ad metric -- created by a tool that supports advertised products.

Finding and purchasing products through AI agents could make "addiction" to a specific tool a much more viable metric for brands looking to keep consumers as customers.

Microsoft is now scrambling to disown the concept describing "addiction" in a internal letter as the first phase of the project. It was first reported by The Information and then seen by 404 Media.

“Project Lobster,” also known as the personal assistant “Scout AI,” which Microsoft recently introduced, is also called “ClawPilot,” created by Microsoft employee Jakob Werner. It is designed to automate tasks by pulling in personal data across Microsoft 365 applications.

Omar Shahine, the Microsoft vice president who is leading the project along with Werner, was called out after a media outlet acknowledged the leaked letter contained early test results with employees and a first-phase strategy that would create daily use with high retention rates, leading to continued addiction for the tool.

The additional phases two and three involve connecting ClawPilot to other AI tools and eventually adding new features, according to the letter seen by 404 Media. 

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman told VentureBeat at Microsoft Build 2026 that the contractual change with OpenAI granted the division to pursue "superintelligence" using Microsoft's researchers and pipeline to build custom silicon.

Scout, Microsoft's first autopilot agent, operates in the background and is built on the open-source OpenClaw technology. It runs with its own identity inside "Microsoft Entra" to ensure that actions are auditable and attributable.

"Windows 365 for Agents" gives AI agents their own managed Cloud PCs, allowing them to interact directly with applications and browsers inside enterprise environments.

Microsoft's future is not focused on its Microsoft Windows operating system, because its agentic future will not require a Copilot+ PC. Some believe Windows will become an agentic OS, "but don't count Window out just yet," according to one media outlet.