New Update Built-in ChatGPT-driven Copilot will transform Windows 11 starting in June

[MuzzMelbourne]

A couple of months ago, Microsoft added generative AI features to Windows 11 in the form of a taskbar-mounted version of the Bing chatbot. Starting this summer, the company will be going even further, adding a new ChatGPT-driven Copilot feature that can be used alongside your other Windows apps. The company announced the change at its Build developer conference alongside another new batch of Windows 11 updates due later this year. Windows Copilot will be available to Windows Insiders starting in June.

New Windows 11 update puts AI-powered Bing Chat directly in the taskbar
Like the Microsoft 365 Copilot, Windows Copilot is a separate window that opens up along the right side of your screen and assists with various tasks based on what you ask it to do. A Microsoft demo video shows Copilot changing Windows settings, rearranging windows with Snap Layouts, summarizing and rewriting documents that were dragged into it, and opening apps like Spotify, Adobe Express, and Teams. Copilot is launched with a dedicated button on the taskbar.

Built-in ChatGPT-driven Copilot will transform Windows 11 starting in June

Copilot is coming alongside another batch of new Windows 11 features this year.

arstechnica.com

 

[oldschool]

Oh my, what will ever become of of Cortana? Maybe out of a job?

Cortana explained: Rocky past, promising future for Microsoft’s digital assistant

At first meant to compete with virtual assistants like Siri, Google Now, and Alexa, Cortana has been stripped of many functions and seemingly left to wither away. But its business-focused reboot may hold the key to long-term success.

www.computerworld.com

 

[Captain Holly]

I guess if people really want all these AI features and having MS even more involved in their online activity, that's up to them. Me personally, I am not in the leaset interested in AI or any of this other whiz-bang MS stuff. I was trying to stay with MS but it looks more and more like I will be making a permanent switch to Linux. I don't need and don't want chat gpt or any of that other crap. I just want to use the internet and a few useful apps. I must be one of the users that want to use stuff.

No thanks MS. Don't force your newfangled world on me. Please. I am not interested.

C.H.

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

... I will be making a permanent switch to Linux. I don't need and don't want chat gpt or any of that other crap. I just want to use the internet and a few useful apps. I must be one of the users that want to use stuff...

C.H.

The Ultimate Linux Distro(with a twist or two).

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Hands-On with Windows Copilot (Preview)

Yesterday, Microsoft released the first public version of the Windows Copilot (Preview) to a small subset of Windows Insiders in the Dev channel. I installed this build on three separate PCs, one physical and two in VMs, but none of them had Copilot enabled. And so I enlisted the help of Rafael to unlock the feature.

Long story short, you need to download Vivetool to the PC on which you installed the build, extract its contents to a folder, open Terminal with administrator privileges, navigate to the extracted folder, and then use the following command:

>./vivetool /enable /id:44774629,44850061,44776738,42105254,41655236

Then, reboot the PC. When you sign in again, you will see a new blue icon in the Taskbar for Windows Copilot that looks a little too much like the icon for the Microsoft 365 app.

Overall, I have to say that this is unimpressive. But it’s early days, and Microsoft says that it will add new features and add an extensibility model over time. Microsoft also says that this thing will display advertising, or as it calls it, “inline recommendations we think are relevant through ads in Bing.” So this thing is being enshittified even in preview. Fantastic.

Hands-On with Windows Copilot (Preview)

Yesterday, Microsoft released the first public version of the Windows Copilot (Preview) to a small subset of Windows Insiders.

www.thurrott.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Hands-on with Windows Copilot: A buggy mess that will (hopefully) get better with time

After using Copilot extensively for a day, I am quite impressed at what Microsoft has built and it could have a bright future ahead. As someone who grew up with Clippy, I do like the idea of having an AI assistant at beck and call, assisting me with work. At the same time, I wish Microsoft adds a way to have Copilot execute actions without giving confirmation prompts. This waters the whole point of having an assistant take actions on your behalf.

Moreover, the random bugs and glitches here and there can get frustrating at times. The fact that Copilot is still restricted to 30 queries, like Bing, is something that I am unable to understand. It takes away the point of having an assistant that can answer all the questions and help with real life problems.

All this combined with no voice typing (even though Bing Chat supports it) and offline support really kills the whole point of having Copilot to the side. While, it is understandable that most of the questions will require an internet connection to fetch details, Copilot could easily execute commands related to Windows without requiring an internet connection, something it fails to achieve in its current state.

Having said that, I do appreciate what Microsoft is trying to do with Copilot even if it is buggy and messy at times. In its current shape, Copilot is probably more suited for novices but if Microsoft spends time on it, Copilot could become an integral part of Windows ecosystem and hopefully work in tandem with third-party apps and services as well.

Hands-on with Windows Copilot: A buggy mess that will (hopefully) get better with time

Last week Microsoft finally rolled out Copilot for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. We took the new Bing powered AI out for a test drive to see how well it works in the real world.

www.neowin.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

First look at Windows Copilot: It's actually just Microsoft Edge, not Windows 11

Because it is an Edge feature, the interface doesn't really feel native to Windows at all. It's clearly a website, and while Microsoft could do work to make it look more native (like adding acrylic blur effects to the sidebar) it's never going to feel like a native Windows feature.

Could Microsoft change this in the future? Maybe. Will it? Probably not. There's a reason Microsoft opted to make this an Edge feature, and it's all to do with upsell and being able to claim that Edge usage is up as a result of users now using it when accessing the Windows Copilot.

I'm not inherently against web-based app experiences, but I am when it comes to Windows features. I am fine with the new Outlook being a WebView app, but I am not a fan of Windows Widgets, Windows Search, and now Windows Copilot being a WebView app. These should be using native Windows UI frameworks.

Overall, my first impressions of the Windows Copilot are disappointing. Right now, due to its limited capabilities as a "Windows" feature, the Copilot button is nothing more than a shortcut to Bing.com. I'm hopeful that over time its capabilities will grow to differentiate it from the Bing Chat website, but that's not going to change how I feel about it being an Edge feature at its core.

First look at Windows Copilot: It's actually just Microsoft Edge, not Windows 11

This new Windows 11 feature is actually Microsoft Edge in disguise.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[BryanB]

Cortana has stopped working on Windows 11, and Microsoft plans to kill off the app on Windows 10 within a few days, a source close to the company confirmed. Instead, anyone who wants an assistant or copilot for their desktops should use the Windows Copilot, which is arriving with the Windows 11 23H2 update.

“We are making some changes to Windows that will impact users of the Cortana app. Starting in August 2023, we will no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app. However, you can still access powerful productivity features in Windows and Edge, which have increased AI capabilities,” Microsoft noted in the document spotted by Windows Latest.

Microsoft just killed the Cortana app on Windows 11 in favour of AI

Microsoft has just killed Cortana on Windows 11 – its Windows Phone-era digital assistant that debuted on desktop with Windows 10. Microsoft has just deprecated its standalone Cortana app, a digital assistant that was the tech giant’s response to Apple’s Siri in 2014. In one of the ads, Siri...

www.windowslatest.com

 

[Trident]

Techradar highly praises Copilot.

On copying text, Copilot has suggested to revise, summarise, expand and explain. Upon copying a picture of a dish, it has identified it and found a recipe.

I personally don’t find this form of masquerading spyware impressive. I use digital assistants only to set an alarm and turn my lights off when I am in bed.

Windows Copilot might be the biggest change Microsoft has ever made to its long-running OS

It's ready to jump in and help

www.techradar.com