Microsoft is embarking on a significant enhancement of its AI-powered Copilot, introducing a suite of new features designed to enrich user experience and streamline interactions. This upgrade was unveiled during the company’s Copilot and 50th anniversary event held on Friday.
Enhancements to User Interaction
Among the most notable updates is Copilot’s newfound ability to memorize user preferences. This feature allows the AI to retain information such as favorite foods, family birthdays, and personal interests, thereby creating a tailored profile that can offer reminders and suggestions aligned with individual likes. Users will have control over what information is stored, with the option to opt out of this memory function entirely.
Microsoft has previously faced challenges regarding its AI’s memory capabilities, notably retracting its Recall software due to security concerns. The company later refined Recall, making it an opt-in feature, ensuring users have the choice to activate it rather than having it enabled by default.
New Functionalities and Features
In addition to memory enhancements, Copilot will soon allow users to customize its appearance, although details about potential designs, such as the nostalgic Clippy, remain undisclosed. Another exciting feature is Copilot’s Actions, which enables the AI to perform tasks on behalf of users through chat prompts. This functionality is set to integrate with various websites, including partnerships with platforms like OpenTable and Booking.com.
As the AI landscape evolves, companies are increasingly focusing on agentic AI to drive user adoption. Google is preparing similar agents for web and gaming applications, while OpenAI is launching tools for developers to create AI agents. Samsung and Google have also introduced agentic capabilities in their smartphones, with Apple working to enhance its own AI offerings.
Visual Search and Additional Capabilities
Copilot is also embracing visual search capabilities through a feature called Copilot Vision. This allows users to utilize their smartphone cameras to capture images or stream live video to search for information about their surroundings. On the web, Copilot Vision can read screens and assist with content searches or settings adjustments, extending its utility to applications like Photoshop by providing navigation assistance and usage tips.
Moreover, Microsoft is introducing a range of additional functionalities, including a podcast feature that curates web information into audio format, a personal shopping assistant, and enhanced multi-step research capabilities. Notably, Copilot Search will be integrated directly into the Bing browser, further solidifying Microsoft’s presence in the consumer AI sector.
This strategic move not only reinforces Microsoft’s leadership in the AI domain but also highlights the competitive gap with rivals like Apple, which has postponed the release of a generative AI-enhanced Siri and has thus far offered more basic AI functionalities such as photo editing and text summaries.
