Microsoft is introducing new artificial intelligence (AI) features to Copilot, the company’s native chatbot. The tech giant is now adding both voice and visual capabilities to the chatbot, after announcing them on Tuesday. Microsoft claims that Copilot’s new features aim to offer an intuitive design with “quick and fluid responses.” The Copilot Voice feature is similar to Gemini Live and ChatGPT’s voice mode. Meanwhile, the much-criticized Recall feature will finally be rolled out to all Windows Insiders this month.
Microsoft’s Copilot updated with AI-powered features
In a blog post, Microsoft shared a few details about the new AI features coming to Copilot. These features will be available in the Copilot app on iOS and Android, the web client, as well as the Copilot assistant on Windows. The latter will only be available on Copilot+ PCs, which are currently powered by Snapdragon X series chipsets.
The co-pilot’s voice
With four voice options, users can now experience a hands-free voice conversation with Microsoft’s chatbot. The company said it can be used to brainstorm, ask a quick query, or just have a friendly chat.
In fact, although the feature will offer a speech-to-speech experience, the company did not specify whether the output generation will be real-time or whether it will support emotional voice.
Vision of the co-pilot
Copilot Vision is also being added. This is a new way of interacting with artificial intelligence. Once enabled, the feature will be able to see what the user sees on the screen. The feature also supports voice mode, allowing users to ask verbal questions about content. For example, users can show the AI a picture of a piece of furniture and ask about its color palette, material, and more.
Since this feature can be considered invasive to user privacy, Microsoft has also added several layers of security measures. The feature is an opt-in and will not work until the user specifically activates it.
Even after activation, the feature currently only works with a limited number of websites. Furthermore, the tech giant added that the data processed by the chatbot will not be collected or used to train artificial intelligence.
Windows recall
Microsoft’s recall feature, which takes passive screenshots of a user’s laptop or desktop computer and can track user activity locally, is now available to a wider user base. Microsoft noted in a blog post that the feature will be available this month to Windows Insiders using Copilot+ PCs.
For now, it will only be available on Snapdragon computers. In November, the technology giant will also introduce it to computers with AMD.
