Microsoft Copilot, the AI-powered assistant that aims to help users with various tasks across Windows, Microsoft 365, Bing, and Edge, will roll out with the Windows 11 22H2 update next week. The update, which will be available for free to eligible Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, will also bring over 150 new features and improvements to the operating system, including a new visual identity, a new user experience, and new AI-powered experiences in apps like Paint, Photos, Clipchamp, and more.
Microsoft Copilot is the result of Microsoft’s vision to create a digital companion for users’ whole life, that can provide assistance and guidance in natural language, using the context and intelligence of the web, users’ work data, and what they are doing in the moment on their PC. Copilot will be accessible from the taskbar or with the Win+C keyboard shortcut, and will work alongside all the apps that users use every day. Copilot will also feature Bing Chat, a conversational interface that can answer users’ questions, create content, or take action based on users’ requests.
Microsoft Copilot is built on the latest advances in AI, such as large language models (LLMs) and generative adversarial networks (GANs), that enable it to understand natural language, generate high-quality text and images, and learn from users’ feedback. Microsoft Copilot leverages the power of GitHub Copilot, the AI-powered coding assistant that helps developers write code faster and better, and extends it to other domains and scenarios, such as productivity, creativity, education, entertainment, and more.
Microsoft Copilot is also designed with users’ privacy and security in mind, and offers different levels of data protection and control for different types of users and organizations. For personal users, Copilot in Windows will be available for free, and will provide assistance based on users’ personal data and the web, with the option to delete chat history and turn off personalized suggestions. For enterprise users, Bing Chat Enterprise will add commercial data protection, ensuring that business data is not saved, Microsoft has no eyes-on access, and the data is not used to train the LLMs. Bing Chat Enterprise will be available as a standalone for $5 per user per month, or included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5.
For enterprise users who want the most advanced and secure AI assistant at work, Microsoft 365 Copilot will be the ultimate solution. Microsoft 365 Copilot will build on Bing Chat Enterprise, but will be in a class of its own, as it will include enterprise-grade security, privacy, compliance, and responsible AI, to ensure that all data processing happens inside users’ Microsoft 365 tenant, using the technology that Microsoft 365 customers have relied on for years. Microsoft 365 Copilot will also introduce Microsoft 365 Chat, a new hero experience that will go far beyond simple questions and answers, and will comb across users’ entire universe of data, such as emails, meetings, chats, documents, and more, plus the web, to solve users’ most complex problems at work. Microsoft 365 Chat will also be integrated into the Microsoft 365 Apps that millions of people use every day, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more. Microsoft 365 Copilot will be generally available for enterprise customers for $30 per user per month on November 1, 2023.
Microsoft Copilot is not only a powerful AI assistant, but also a platform that enables developers and partners to create and extend Copilot experiences for their own domains and scenarios. Microsoft has already partnered with several companies and organizations, such as OpenAI, Adobe, Khan Academy, Duolingo, and more, to bring Copilot capabilities to their products and services, and to enrich Copilot with their domain knowledge and expertise. Microsoft also provides tools and resources for developers to build their own Copilot experiences, such as the Copilot SDK, the Copilot Studio, and the Copilot Marketplace, where developers can discover, share, and monetize their Copilot creations.
Microsoft Copilot is a bold and ambitious vision for the future of AI, and a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. By bringing Copilot to Windows, Microsoft 365, Bing, and Edge, Microsoft aims to make AI accessible and useful for everyone, and to create a single Copilot user experience that works across users’ whole life. Microsoft Copilot will start to roll out with the Windows 11 22H2 update next week, and will continue to evolve and improve over time, based on users’ feedback and needs.