Microsoft is testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for its Xbox platform. On Monday, the company announced a virtual support agent based on artificial intelligence, which is designed to help players of the game console with support issues. Rumors of the chatbot started appearing in April, and now the company has officially released the AI-powered bot in preview mode. It’s currently only available to Xbox Insiders who live in the US and have English as their preferred language.
Microsoft is releasing an AI-powered chatbot for Xbox
In an editorial, Microsoft detailed its AI chatbot called Support Virtual Agent. This is a new feature available on the Xbox Support website. While the AI chatbot is fluent in natural language, it specializes in helping players with support issues.
The AI chatbot was rolled out to US Xbox Insider Program members who signed up for experimental updates. Microsoft said that eligible users will start seeing the chatbot on the “Contact Us” page of the platform’s support page after logging into their account.
The Xbox AI chatbot accepts both text and voice as input and can respond with relevant information from the gaming platform’s support pages. Users will also be able to choose between two different chatbots by clicking on the dotted menu icon. The company said that if a virtual support agent can’t resolve the issue, users can request to speak with a real-time support agent during the company’s normal business hours.
The Verge reports that the chatbot could look like either an AI character that animates when it responds to a request, or a colorful Xbox overlay. It’s unclear if Xbox plans to add more chatbot options for users or expand its capabilities to also help users with their accounts, game catalogs, game reviews, and more.
It is noteworthy that currently the AI chatbot supports only English. The company also asked Xbox Insiders for feedback on the AI chatbot. Users can provide feedback directly in the chatbot interface by clicking the thumbs up or thumbs down button on individual responses. Separately, they can also leave feedback by entering their opinion in the text box that will appear after clicking the “Send Feedback” button at the bottom of the page.