Microsoft Copilot Huge Update: 'Mico' As A Copilot Character, 'Copilot Mode in Edge', And Lots More

The large language model (LLM) war intensifies as tech companies not only race towards making smarter AIs, but also putting them in more places.

The arrival of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022 has ushered in what some are calling the LLM war, where tech companies become rivals in this emerging, but ludicrous industry. And during the time when tech giants continue embedding LLMs into their everyday tools, they began reshaping productivity and redefining human-computer interaction.

Headlines shifted from fascination with raw model parameters to questions of integration, trust, and utility.

In that context, the announcement from Microsoft’s AI division of its Fall release for Copilot appears less like a standalone update and more like the deepening of a strategic front in that war.

Microsoft’s latest offering is built around more than incremental capability improvements.

First and foremost, the company introduces 'Mico,' described as an expressive, customizable visual companion for Copilot’s voice-mode interactions.

According to a blog post from Microsoft, the new character is an "AI that listens. That learns. That earns your trust."

The design evokes echoes of past Microsoft efforts—most notably the veteran Office assistant Clippy. Analysts note the resemblance, pointing out that Microsoft appears to be embracing its own legacy of character-based agents while trying to move beyond the mistakes of the past.

In fact, Mico, which is literally a shape-shifting blog, can be interacted with, and can change its form to Clippy once in a while.

But Mico is only one piece of a larger update.

Now that Copilot is no longer represented as a logo, Microsoft is positioning Copilot more firmly as a cross-platform, multimodal assistant.

For example, Microsoft said that Copilot now supports collaboration with up to 32 people in a shared 'Groups' session, long-term memory and personalization, deeper integration across services (Outlook, OneDrive, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar), and an augmented browsing experience inside Microsoft Edge where Copilot can examine open tabs, summarize threads, compare information and even act on users' behalf.

Then, there is the 'Copilot Mode in Edge' update that allow users to say "Hey Copilot…" and have the browser assist them in navigating the web, summarizing webpages, or taking action through available call-to-actions, rather than just passively searching, or doing things themselves.

The most stand out feature in this Copilot Mode in Edge should be 'Journeys,' which allows Edge to utilize Copilot to bring users back to exactly where they left off and suggest the next steps, without requiring users to bookmark anything.

"With Journeys, you see your past browsing projects automatically grouped into helpful topics and you can dive right back in, all with your explicit permission, said Microsoft in another blog post.

Also new in this release, Copilot Mode in Edge can also use users' browsing history, and permission is granted, it can use that information to tailor higher quality responses.

Copilot Mode in Edge is literally Microsoft's answer to the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas.

From a strategic vantage point, Microsoft appears to be doubling down on the notion that AI isn’t just a backend novelty, but a core interface.

In the war of LLMs, the battleground is shifting from "how smart is your model?" to "how smart is your model at helping me, in context, in my flow, and on my terms?"

This is where Microsoft frames Copilot as "not just a product—it’s a promise that AI can be helpful, supportive, and deeply personal."

Yet there are deeper undercurrents.

The reintroduction of a visual avatar invites scrutiny around how people emotionally engage with AI. As one article points out, Microsoft hopes Mico succeeds where Clippy failed: aimed to be helpful, not intrusive; expressive, not distracting; assistant-not overseer.

On the browser front, Microsoft is again staking space in a domain long dominated by legacy players, but this time undercutting them with integrated generative capabilities.