Microsoft has gone all-in on artificial intelligence, and its big bet in the space is Copilot, which it describes as “centralized AI assistance to help people easily take action and get things done.” After a summer preview, Copilot is now getting a wider release across Windows 11, Microsoft 365, the Edge browser, and Bing.
“It will work as an app or reveal itself when you need it with a right click,” says Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer. “We will continue to add capabilities and connections to Copilot across to our most-used applications over time in service of our vision to have one experience that works across your whole life.”
Look for it first in Windows 11 as part of an operating system update that’s rolling out on Sept. 26 (the same day Apple drops macOS Sonoma). It will then land on Bing, Edge, and Microsoft 365 Copilot in the fall, Mehdi says.
That OS update adds over 150 new features, Microsoft says, bringing AI-powered experiences to apps like Paint, Photos, Clipchamp and more. On Windows 11, Copilot will live in the taskbar or be accessible via the Win+C keyboard shortcut (RIP Cortana). In the video above, users are shown asking for things like “organize my windows” or “play something to help me focus,” which brings up a Spotify focus playlist.
A Summarize option from the taskbar button, meanwhile, can take blocks of text from the web and turn it into a brief summary. Or you can ask Copilot to write original content (watch out for error-prone copy and hallucinations, though).
Bing Gets Personal
Microsoft also previewed new features coming to Bing Chat, like the ability for it to remember your chat history and help you shop online.
“For example, if you’ve used Bing to track your favourite soccer team, next time you’re planning a trip it can proactively tell you if the team is playing in your destination city,” according to Microsoft, which says this can be turned off if it feels too invasive.
If you’re looking for a product online, meanwhile, Bing can ask follow-up questions to help narrow your search. Soon, you’ll also be able to search by uploading a photo or saved image.
The latest version of OpenAI’s image generator, Dall-E 3, is also coming to Bing’s Image Creator, while Microsoft Designer will also be integrated directly into Bing.
Like Google, Microsoft is also testing an “invisible digital watermark [for] all AI-generated images in Bing”—as well as Paint and Designer—to prevent generative AI from ripping off artists.
Thes features are rolling out “soon” on Microsoft Edge or via bing.com/chat in other browsers.
Microsoft 365 Chat: Tackling Tedious Work Tasks
Microsoft 365 Copilot rolls out to enterprise customers on Nov. 1, 2023 alongside a new Microsoft 365 Chat assistant.
“Microsoft 365 Chat combs across your entire universe of data at work, including emails, meetings, chats, documents and more, plus the web,” Microsoft says, to build “a deep understanding of you, your job, your priorities and your organization.”
The idea is to help people tackle complex or tedious tasks—”whether that’s writing a strategy document, booking a business trip, or catching up on emails.” It’s integrated across apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
Microsoft also teased an integration between Designer and Word; “within moments, you can transform a text-heavy document with custom graphics,” Redmond says. It’s currently being tested with a small group of Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers and will expand over time.
On the Bing front, Bing Chat Enterprise is now available in the Microsoft Edge app.
Also today, Microsoft announced modest updates to the Surface Laptop Go and Laptop Studio.