Microsoft removed the overzealous office assistant Clippy some 17 years ago, but the vision of the genial and positive AI helper has apparently found its way out of the Recycle Bin. The company is modernizing Copilot, the text-based artificial intelligence tool bundled with Windows and other software, adding vision, voice and the ability to solve more intricate problems, as well as a more “inviting” personality.
“We really are at an incredible transition point,” says Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI. “AI companions now see what we see, hear what we hear, and speak the same language we use to communicate.”
Copilot has received mixed reactions from some users so far grumble delays or ambiguity in its responses, but Microsoft is betting that the tool could eventually become an integral part of Windows, Office and more. By incorporating OpenAI’s artificial intelligence algorithms into software used by hundreds of millions of people, the company is at the forefront of testing the potential of artificial intelligence to augment office productivity. Substantial rival Google is also pushing artificial intelligence into office applications, including Gmail and Google Docs.
The up-to-date Copilot will be able to talk to users in several human voices, naturally dealing with breaks and pauses. “You can stop mid-song and also actively listen,” Suleyman says. “And that’s the art of a great conversation.”
Suleyman adds that Copilot has also been improved to provide users with greater emotional support. “It’s on your team, it’s supporting you, it’s your hype, man,” he says. The company says Copilot Voice will be available in English starting today for users in Australia, Canada, Recent Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, with additional countries to come.
Microsoft’s Clippy helper, an anthropomorphic paper clip, was best known for appearing when users opened Word, with the eminent line “It looks like you’re writing a letter…”. The product was unpopular; Microsoft concluded this was in part because the program failed to deliver the human intelligence promised by forgetting user preferences and repeating itself indefinitely. Multi-language models are much better at mimicking human intelligence, but their behavior can still be strange and unpredictable, which could impact Copilot’s popularity.
Copilot Voice will be available in the free version of Copilot for Windows, which is also available in a standalone mobile app and online.
Microsoft is also rolling out more experimental Copilot updates that will be confined to those who pay for a $20-a-month Copilot Pro subscription. An optional feature called Copilot Vision will allow the AI assistant to see users’ screens and respond to things they are pointing at. Suleyman says a user can, for example, point to a product and ask Copilot to provide a review based on online reviews.
“One of the things that seems to be most common is people asking for aesthetic advice,” Suleyman says. “They’re on a fashion website and they’re like, what’s the name of this pattern? What’s the name of this dress?