Identical Meaning of "similar to" and "like"

Whenever I use the phrase "similar to", Microsoft Word wants me to use "like" instead. I’m not a native speaker, so maybe I’m getting the nuances wrong here. But to me, "A is similar to B" would indicate that both objects are still quite distinct, whereas in "A is like B" they are pracitcally the same.

How do you feel about this (especially native speakers)?