Artificial intelligence comes to Windows 11 through a virtual assistant. Microsoft introduced today Windows Copilot, a novelty capable of offering suggestions based on what is displayed on the screen. The function would be available from June in a preview version.
Once open, the Windows Copilot Sidebar will stay consistent across all your apps, programs, and windows. “Always available to act as your personal assistant,” explained Panos Panay, director of Windows and devices at Microsoft. “It makes every user a power user, helping you take action, customize your settings, and seamlessly connect through your favorite apps.”
Windows Copilot you can summarize the content that is being displayed in the applications. You will have the ability to rewrite it and even explain it. As with the Bing chatbot, the new update will enable a conversation box, with the idea that the user can make queries that are usually made through search engines.
Microsoft will also allow developers to extend plugins (plugins) designed for Bing or ChatGPT to this new AI-powered assistant. Windows Copilot, in practice, would come to replace Cortana.
Windows Copilot and other AI updates
The new Windows 11 update was announced as part of Microsoft Build 2023, which also unveiled a group of new features powered by artificial intelligence. Among them, the integration of Bing as the default search experience for ChatGPT.
It means, then, that ChatGPT can now base its responses on recent searches and data posted on the Internet. It will also include citations so that users can get more information, just like the results that Bing offers thanks to its integration with GPT-4. This option will start to be available from this Tuesday for ChatGPT Plus usersreported Microsoft in its Blog. It will also be accessible for free through a plugin, but the date was not specified.
Other news is that Microsoft 365 Copilot will reach the edge browser. Last March, the company led by Satya Nadella had already announced that it would power its office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and more) with artificial intelligence, more specifically with GPT-4 technology.
The new option will now allow any website the user is visiting to be used as a context to complete tasks in one of these tools. “While looking at a file shared by a colleague, you can simply ask, ‘What are the key points in this document?’ and get answers from Microsoft 365 Copilot in real time, explained Lindsay Kubasik, Microsoft group product manager for Edge Enterprise.
The new Copilot feature for Edge will be available in the browser’s sidebar and will remain active while browsing. Still, however, there is no release date.