Honestly, if Microsoft is going to reverse this decision, the argument needs to be framed around productivity loss, customer impact, and measurable time waste, not user frustration alone.

The irony is that Microsoft's stated reason for retiring the feature was to "simplify the mobile email experience and focus on core productivity workflows" (Message Center notice MC1393802). Yet for many executive assistants, sales teams, recruiters, consultants, and customer-facing professionals, Send Availability was itself a core productivity workflow. [mc.merill.net], [m365admin....sontek.net]

Here's the strongest case I would make:

Bring Back "Send Availability" in Outlook Mobile

Send Availability was not merely a convenience feature. It was a measurable productivity tool.

Using conservative assumptions, the feature saved individual users 100 to 200+ hours annually and saved enterprise organizations thousands of cumulative work hours each year. Removing a tool that eliminates repetitive administrative effort runs counter to Microsoft's broader mission of increasing workplace productivity through automation and intelligent workflows.

The strongest argument for restoring Send Availability is simple: the feature saved time, reduced errors, minimized context switching, and returned hundreds of productive hours to Microsoft's most scheduling-intensive users.

The decision to retire Send Availability from Outlook for iOS and Android removed one of the most efficient scheduling tools in the Microsoft ecosystem. While intended to simplify the mobile experience, the result has been the opposite for power users: more manual work, slower response times, and reduced productivity.

For executive assistants, scheduling coordinators, sales professionals, recruiters, consultants, and leaders who manage high meeting volumes, Send Availability was not a niche feature. It was a daily workflow.

Microsoft should restore the feature or provide an equivalent modern replacement.

Why This Matters

1. The Feature Solved a Real Problem

Scheduling meetings by email remains common, especially when:

• Working with external organizations.
• Coordinating executive calendars.
• Scheduling across multiple companies.
• Offering multiple meeting options before sending a formal invite.

Send Availability allowed users to:

• See open time slots.
• Select only appropriate options.
• Insert them into an email in seconds.

This replaced several manual steps with a single action.

2. The Current Alternative Is Not Equivalent

Microsoft's recommendation is to manually check the calendar and type available times into an email. [mc.merill.net], [m365admin....sontek.net]

That workaround:

• Takes longer.
• Introduces errors.
• Requires context switching.
• Creates inconsistent formatting.
• Becomes extremely inefficient for high-volume schedulers.

The "Share Calendar" option is also not a replacement because users must often disclose only selective availability, not their entire schedule.

Many assistants intentionally offer times that appear blocked but can be rearranged for priority meetings. A shared calendar cannot communicate that nuance effectively.

3. Executive Assistants Were Heavy Users

Microsoft often speaks about supporting modern work.

Few groups depend more heavily on scheduling efficiency than executive assistants.

An EA may coordinate:

• Leadership meetings.
• Board meetings.
• Investor meetings.
• Vendor meetings.
• Internal stakeholder meetings.

For these users, removing Send Availability adds friction dozens of times per day.

A feature used once a month may not justify support costs.

A feature used multiple times per hour by scheduling professionals does.

4. The ROI Calculation Is Easy

Assume:

• 30 seconds using Send Availability.
• 2 to 3 minutes manually checking and typing times.
• 20 scheduling emails per day.

That is approximately:

• 30 to 50 extra minutes per user per day.
• 2.5 to 4 hours per week.
• More than 100 hours annually per power user.

Multiply that across executive assistants, recruiters, sales teams, and consultants worldwide.

The productivity loss becomes substantial.

5. Users Actively Chose Mobile Outlook Because of This Feature

Many users have publicly stated they switched to Outlook Mobile specifically to use Send Availability because it was faster than desktop scheduling workflows. [learn.microsoft.com], [learn.microsoft.com]

When users leave desktop Outlook to perform a task on mobile, that is usually evidence of a successful feature, not a feature that should be removed.

6. This Decision Conflicts with Microsoft's AI Vision

Microsoft is investing billions in Copilot and workplace productivity.

Removing a feature that already automated a common workflow sends the opposite message.

Users expect:

"Do more work with fewer clicks."

The retirement of Send Availability effectively says:

"Perform the same work using more clicks."

That is difficult to reconcile with Microsoft's productivity-first strategy.

Recommended Path Forward

Instead of permanently retiring the feature, Microsoft should:

1. Restore Send Availability in Outlook Mobile.
2. Reintroduce it as an optional setting if interface simplicity is a concern.
3. Integrate it with Copilot for smarter availability suggestions.
4. Allow users to select only the times they want to expose.
5. Collect usage telemetry before removing any high-frequency workflow again.

Bottom Line

Microsoft removed a workflow accelerator used heavily by the very people responsible for keeping calendars and organizations running.

The feature saved time, reduced errors, and made Outlook Mobile more valuable. Its removal creates extra work without providing a comparable replacement.

If Microsoft's mission is to help people be more productive, restoring Send Availability would be a straightforward way to deliver on that promise.

The irony is that Microsoft's stated reason for retiring the feature was to "simplify the mobile email experience and focus on core productivity workflows" (Message Center notice MC1393802). Yet for many executive assistants, sales teams, recruiters, consultants, and customer-facing professionals, Send Availability was itself a core productivity workflow. [mc.merill.net], [m365admin....sontek.net]

The strongest argument for restoring Send Availability is simple: the feature saved time, reduced errors, minimized context switching, and returned hundreds of productive hours to Microsoft's most scheduling-intensive users.