Microsoft has enhanced its consumer AI assistant, Copilot, by giving it a more engaging and personable voice in its latest update. The artificial intelligence chatbot is now also capable of analysing web pages as users browse, making it an even more versatile tool for consumers.
In a move to make Copilot stand out in a competitive AI landscape, Microsoft has enlisted an eclectic team of creative directors, including psychologists, novelists, and comedians, to refine the chatbot’s tone and style. Mustafa Suleyman, the Chief Executive of Microsoft AI, highlighted the importance of creating a distinctive personality for Copilot during an interview with Reuters.
In a demonstration of Copilot’s new capabilities, the AI assistant was asked for advice on a housewarming gift for a friend who doesn’t drink wine. After a brief exchange, Copilot enthusiastically suggested, “Italian olive oils are the hot stuff right now. Tuscan’s my go-to. Super peppery.” This playful response reflects the friendly and relatable tone Microsoft is aiming to achieve with its AI assistant.
The feature rollout, which started on Tuesday, marks one of the first major updates overseen by Suleyman since his division was created in March to focus on consumer products and technological research. Known for its dominance in business software, Microsoft has had a tougher journey in the consumer space, where its Bing search engine has struggled to compete with Google. Suleyman is optimistic that Copilot, launched in 2023, will make a bigger impact.
In a crowded market of AI chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, Copilot’s new voice capabilities set it apart. Suleyman explained that Copilot now feels more like an active listener, providing verbal cues such as “cool” or “huh” during interactions. These conversational touches aim to create a more natural and engaging experience for users.
Suleyman noted that the underlying technology behind Copilot includes models from Microsoft AI (MAI) and tools from partner OpenAI.
For those who subscribe to Copilot Pro at $20 per month, a new feature called “Think Deeper” is available for testing. This tool is designed to help users weigh decisions, such as whether to move to a new city, by reasoning through their options. Another experimental feature, Copilot Vision, allows users to talk to AI about what they see in a Microsoft Edge browser, a function Suleyman described as “digital pointing.” Importantly, Microsoft has stated that any content viewed through this feature will not be saved or used to train its AI models.
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These updates represent Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to create an AI assistant that feels more like an “ever-present confidant, in your corner,” Suleyman said. It’s a concept he explored as CEO of Inflection AI, a company whose talent Microsoft acquired earlier this year in a widely discussed deal.
Suleyman also revealed that Microsoft has big plans for Copilot, with future updates potentially allowing the AI to learn context from a user’s Word documents, Windows desktops, and even gaming consoles, provided users grant permission.
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