- Microsoft began to test the appearance of a co -pilot to give the assistant AI a more distinct personality
- The functionality permeates co -pilot with real -time expressions and gestures
- The appearance of the co -pilot is part of a wider thrust to give Copilot a persistent identity
Microsoft has decided to put a face on her AI Copilot assistant with a new feature called COPILOT APPENCE. Deployed to a limited set of users in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada as part of Microsoft’s Copilot laboratories, appearance is a kind of animated cloud and has a smile instead of a disembodied voice. Microsoft hopes that appearance will help make the co -pilot more sustainable as a tool for a regular commitment, not just an occasional interrogation.
It is an idea that corresponds to the way in which the head of the general public of the company, Mustafa Suleyman, plans the future of Copilot. As he explained in a recent interview, Suleyman sees a more human co -pilot, the one who carries what he calls “digital patina” as he aged, by accumulating history and personality according to the time spent with a user.
The appearance function is an aspect of this idea. It gives COPILOT facial expressions and subtle animations to respond in real time when you speak or type. So you can see a smile when it provides information, or a sign of encouragement when you provide tracking details. Maybe even a crisscrossed front if you ask for something difficult.
The obvious comparison for any Microsoft AI personality attempt is Clipipy, but it is, theoretically at least, far from the old trombone with eyeballs. Unlike Clipippy, this assistant does not appear without guest or does not ask if you write a letter. He will only speak to you when you start a conversation, and he is supposed to exist quietly in the background. But he will remember what you do, and this memory lasts.
Appearance and personality
It is the continuity of memory that allows Copilot to become as personal as Suleyman wishes. Combined with other recent co -pilot upgrades such as vocal mode and vision capabilities, Suleyman hopes that Copilot will understand both what you want in the moment and that are overall.
Of course, for the moment, the visual character is nothing wild. He does not animate a complete scene or does not signal with his arms like an acolyte Pixar. It looks more like a friendly office factory that also changes your reports. Microsoft moves slowly here for a reason. Other platforms that have strongly relied on characters based on characters have encountered problems with users who became too attached to an AI companion.
The risk, of course, is that some people will start thinking about it this way. The goal is to gain the confidence of a user, but not so much that people forget that it is always a tool. But if Microsoft continues to follow this path, it will have to draw clear lines.
Appearance is a layer of presence and varnish. It is also an overview of an AI that shows how it reacts to us with facial expressions and body language, which can be understood. But, I still don’t want to see Copilot lift my eyebrows and roll my eyes sarcastically to the requests he thinks of being stupid.
