The classic (and clumsy) wizard of microsoftoffice, Clippy has become a curious object of nostalgia for users of the old guard of the Windows operating system. And now, to everyone’s surprise, it’s back in the form of an app powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Who we had the opportunity to interact with clippie we clearly remember that he was not the brightest assistant on the market. It was originally designed with the intention of guiding new users through the wide variety of functions that the Office suite integrated.
But the truth is that the queries had to be too specific to offer any really useful result and we owe a good part of its reputation and fame to the clear pattern of conduct and effectiveness always highlighted by its clumsiness.
That hasn’t stopped the PC user community from loving it. So much and to such a degree that Microsoft not long ago ended selling a series of ugly christmas sweaters with Clippy’s design showing off in all its glory.
Needless to say, the product with questionable aesthetic values sold out quickly and has already become a collector’s item with a high resale price.
It is in the middle of this scenario that we witness the resurrection of this wizard.
Clippy returns as an app powered by Artificial Intelligence but it is not official from Microsoft
We are not sure how, but somehow in the Microsoft Store the download of an unofficial app has been enabled under the name of Clippy by Firecubewhich, as the name implies, is an iteration of the classic Office assistant, only it’s not an official application.
The grace of all this? Actually this app works as a frontend for ChatGPT 3.5, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. It is therefore a kind of skin, where you use this popular platform through the Clippy assistant.
We don’t know how long this app will be available for download within the official Windows Store, but we suspect it won’t be long, as the app’s own full-text description immediately identifies it as a non-Microsoft product.
Developer Firecube has a good reputation as a guild insider who digs deep into new Windows code for unreleased features.
So it seems relatively reliable.