Microsoft has been at the front-and-center of many things in technology's advancement.
From the fact that it created the PC revolution, and how it created the first-ever browser war, and how it attempted to enter the mobile industry to compete with its long-time rival, Apple. And this time, in the modern days of tech, Microsoft is also a prominent entity in the AI industry.
After OpenAI was established, Microsoft that was quick to realize its potential, began supporting it.
As a result of this, the company managed to create its own AI brand it calls the 'Copilot,' but powered by the same AI that powers OpenAI's products.
But because the market is become increasingly saturated with products that offer pretty much the same thing, Microsoft needs to innovate.
This is where the company is enhancing Copilot to a whole new level of intelligence, by giving it the ability to hear, see, and speak.
Microsoft touted it an announcement as an "AI companion for everyone."
The new Copilot app is like talking to your dog, except what it says back isn't just in your head. https://t.co/qToCe5coPA pic.twitter.com/geCHHvcT6q
— Microsoft Copilot (@MSFTCopilot) October 1, 2024
This time, Microsoft is rolling out a major overhaul of its Copilot AI assistant, introducing voice and vision capabilities that make it more personalized and interactive.
These features include a virtual news presenter mode that is able to reads users headlines, the ability for Copilot to understand what users are looking at on their screen, and a voice feature enabling natural conversation with the assistant, similar to OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode.
It does this using what it calls the 'Copilot Vision,' which allows the AI assistant to interpret and respond to the content users are viewing on a webpage, whether it’s text, images, or other media. This feature should be helpful with tasks, like shopping online, as Copilot can offer product recommendations in real-time.
It also has what it calls the 'Copilot Voice,' which lets users have smoother and more natural conversations with the AI companion.
This way, the experience of using the AI should feel more like speaking with a person than a robot.
Responses are also faster, and that users can even interrupt the chatbot and redirect the conversation.
Here, Microsoft is expanding Copilot’s voice capabilities, offering four voice options to choose from.
"We’re making a huge bet on voice," said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer.
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"When you use it with the way we’ve designed it, you really start to let yourself go and have conversations. Then you see the glimmers of where we’re going to go long term, with vision where the AI can actually help you and see what you see if you want it to."
To truly have a great AI Companion experience, you need to be able to speak with it as naturally as you would a friend or colleague. I have been using Copilot Voice for a while now and its game changing! Here is a demo: pic.twitter.com/7mt2H73d44
— Yusuf Mehdi (@yusuf_i_mehdi) October 1, 2024
Then, Microsoft wrapped everything up with a more inviting and personalized feel.
For example, the redesigned Copilot adopts a card-based interface similar to Inflection AI’s Pi assistant.
it features a Copilot Discover page that evolves based on users' conversation history, providing relevant searches, tips, and information over time. This revamp reflects the influence of Suleyman’s team and their customer-centric approach, as explained by
Together, the revamped Copilot is like the key evolution in Microsoft’s effort to make Copilot a more personal companion and hint at what’s to come for AI experiences.
Another feature that is actively in development, is called 'Think Deeper,' which enhances Copilot’s ability to solve and answer complex questions by delivering detailed, step-by-step answers.
This will be particularly useful for comparing options or making important decisions, such as choosing between cities to move to. Think Deeper and Copilot Vision are both part of Copilot Labs, where Microsoft is testing experimental features and gathering feedback.
In all, the new Copilot is unlike anything Microsoft has offered previously.
This redesigned Copilot experience spans mobile, web, and the Windows app.
But what's worth noting here, the overhaul of Copilot happens after Microsoft brought in talents from Inflection AI, including Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of Google DeepMind.
Today we’re launching our new Copilot experience. I truly believe we can deliver a calmer, more helpful and supportive era of technology, with a Copilot that is now more intuitive, more personalized, and secure. Learn more, download, and enjoy.
At Microsoft AI, we are creating… pic.twitter.com/gxY1DgwNzV— Mustafa Suleyman (@mustafasuleyman) October 1, 2024
The overhaul marks Suleyman’s first significant change to Copilot since taking charge of the consumer side of the assistant, after he is appointed as the CEO of Microsoft AI.
"At Microsoft AI, we are creating an AI companion for everyone," said Suleyman in an open letter.
"I truly believe we can create a calmer, more helpful and supportive era of technology, quite unlike anything we’ve seen before."
Suleyman added that Copilot has also been tweaked so that it offers more emotional support to users.
"It's on your team, it’s backing you up, it’s your hype man," he said.