Microsoft Copilot: Maybe 3rd time is the charm for Windows virtual assistants | Digit

At the Microsoft Build 2023, Satya Nadella and team unveiled Copilot for Windows. Copilot is a new virtual assistant powered by ChatGPT that is accessible from the Windows 11 taskbar. It is the third Microsoft chatbot after Cortana and Clippy. Yeah, some of you may be too young to remember Clippy. So, now that Copilot is available on Windows, the question we have is — can Copilot do what others couldn’t? That is to last as a chatbot that Windows users live by. Will the third time be the charm for Microsoft virtual assistants?

Let’s see. 

Is Copilot the same as Bing Chat on Microsoft Edge?

Well, Microsoft Edge browser users will know of Bing Chat, which is accessible by clicking the (b) icon on the right corner of the top menu bar. For layman’s understanding, the Copilot is based on this Bing Chat feature of Edge only and is now baked into Windows. You can tap the Copilot icon on the Windows taskbar with a hexagonal logo. A sidebar opens on the right side and you can access it over all apps and screens you are interacting with. 

If you recall, Cortana too had a dedicated button on the Windows 10 taskbar and so, Copilot seems like an advanced Cortana for Windows 11. And if you ask us, what about Clippy, well, Copilot appears to be Clippy on droids. Or dare we say, Clippy unclipped!

While all three virtual assistants were integrated with key Microsoft products and were capable of providing information, answering questions, and completing tasks, Copilot is more reaching and powerful than the rest two.

Use of Copilot on Windows

1. You can ask questions and clear your doubts with Copilot.

2. You can ask it to summarize copied text (even blocks of them), files (just drop the and ask it to sum up), and the content that’s on the app/window you are presently on.

3. Since it is integrated into Windows, you can get Copilot to change settings. Say, ask Copilot to adjust the Focus settings or turn on Dark Mode, and it will do that in seconds.

Microsoft’s head of Windows and devices, Mr Panos Panay says “It makes every user a power user.” We hope it does.