AI development has been at a breakneck speed so it’s no wonder Microsoft has been pumping out updates to its Copilot AI assistant. The latest upgrades cement Microsoft’s ambition to make Copilot not just an assistant, but a companion, a computer buddy that’s your ride-or-die.
With AI everywhere, Microsoft is looking to make Copilot more compelling and more essential by making it more personal.
“Copilot will understand you in the context of your life, and show up, on your terms, in the right way at the right time,” said Mustafa Suleyman, executive vice president and CEO of Microsoft AI, in a blog post on April 4.
Best AI Image Generators of 2025
Copilot — powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology — is available on the web and as an app, and as part of the Microsoft 365 service, Windows, the Edge browser and Bing search. Essentially, it’s just about everywhere in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Today’s update includes a new Windows app and Copilot Vision for your phone. Vision can analyze photos and real-time video. Microsoft gives the example of showing it your sick houseplant and asking for tips on making it healthier.
Suleyman had some soaring words for the updated Copilot, calling it “far richer, more dynamic, supportive and emergent than any software we’ve seen before.”
Microsoft’s push to get consumers to embrace AI across their digital lives is part of a larger trend.
“OpenAI, Perplexity, Google and others are pursuing a personalized consumer AI experience, and now Microsoft is joining the party,” Gartner analyst Jason Wong tells CNET. “Mustafa Suleyman was hired to bring this vision to fruition.”
Microsoft Copilot packs in the updates
So what’s new with Copilot that demands such big buzzwords? Buckle up. There’s a lot.
For starters, you can opt into letting Copilot remember what you talk about, whether it’s weight-loss goals or the name of your pet hamster.
“Copilot prioritizes security and privacy, giving you control through the user dashboard and the option to choose which types of information it remembers about you or to opt out entirely,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft is experimenting with a feature it calls “appearances” that will let you give Copilot a customized shape or form. A demonstration video shows a cartoonish character with a tomato head, a blobby ghost-like figure and a bevy of different cats. Because we’re all suckers for cats, right?
Copilot Actions lets the AI assistant handle tasks such as making restaurant reservations or sending birthday gifts. Microsoft has partnered with 1-800-Flowers.com, Booking.com, Expedia, Kayak, OpenTable, Priceline, Tripadvisor, Skyscanner, Viator and Vrbo to enable this feature.
Pages is a feature that organizes research, notes or whatever else you want to throw at it. Podcast fans can get Copilot to make AI podcasts to listen to on whatever topic they like.
“While listening, you can continue to talk and interact with Copilot to learn more and keep the conversations going,” the Microsoft blog post explained.
Microsoft promises a better experience with its Copilot Search feature in Bing at a time when internet users often encounter accuracy problems with search-result summaries. That’s not just a Google issue; it’s a challenge for generative AI in general.
When does the new Copilot roll out?
The initial rollout of the new Copilot features starts on Friday, with full availability in the coming months.
Will this be a richer and more dynamic software experience than ever before? Users will ultimately have the say in that. Microsoft will be seeking to pull more people into its AI ecosystem.
“It remains to be seen whether consumers will embrace Copilot as Microsoft imagined,” says Wong, noting how Microsoft doesn’t have as prominent a place in the AI “consumer mindshare” as Apple, Google, or even OpenAI and its popular ChatGPT.
Read the full article here