Microsoft study reveals how AI chatbot usage shifts between work colleague and personal confidant

Coworker or friend? How your chatbot's role is shaped by device and time

For many people, AI is more than a means of quickly retrieving information; it's also become a personal health coach, tutor, confidant, companion -- even a therapist. But what are the factors that determine which role the technology plays from one moment to the next? Also: Gemini vs. Copilot: I tested the AI tools on 7 everyday tasks, and it wasn't even close This is the question that Microsoft set out to answer in a recent study, which analyzed 37.5 million anonymized user conversations with Copilot, the company's flagship AI chatbot. The results, published on Wednesday, reveal that people's use of AI fluctuates widely depending on the time (it looked at time across the days, months, and year), with stark differences in the types of questions being asked on desktop versus mobile; most notably, users of the latter are asking for more personal advice. The study sheds a brighter light on some of the more intimate uses of AI chatbots at a time of fierce debate over how closely these tools should be integrated into our day-to-day lives, and the risks associated with our individual use of the technology. Previous research has shown that as AI chatbots become more advanced, they're responding to an increasingly wide variety of queries. A study conducted by OpenAI in September, for example, found that 70% of all ChatGPT messages are non-work-related (up from 53% last year), with "practical guidance" being among the most common uses (along with "seeking information" and "writing"). An article published by "Harvard Business Review" in April claimed that therapy and companionship was the number one most common use of AI. Also: Using AI for therapy? Don't - it's bad for your mental health, APA warns The new Microsoft study wanted to dig deeper: "While we have an understanding of 'what' people do with AI, we know less about when and how they do it," the company wrote in its full report. The company collected its database of millions of conversations between January and September, and excluded any chats from enterprise or commercial Copilot accounts. One of the most notable findings was the prevalence of conversations related to health and fitness, particularly on mobile: It was the third most common topic after "technology" and "work and career," highlighting "a growing user trust in Copilot, as individuals increasingly view it not only as a source of information but as a reliable source of advice," the researchers wrote in the report. Conversations were also found to vary over time. On desktop, "work and career" -- as you could probably guess -- was the most common subject during the workday (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), while users across both modalities seemed to grow more introspective late in the night: the researchers reported a spike in "religion and philosophy" during the wee hours. Conversations regarding "personal growth and wellness" and "relationships" also surged in February in the days leading up to Valentine's Day, and on the holiday itself. Also: Microsoft gives Copilot a 'real talk' upgrade - and an (optional) cartoon face The biggest difference between the two modalities, according to the report, is that desktop users were more focused on career-related queries, while mobile users asked more personal questions. The Microsoft researchers note in their report that this could cause a split in the future development of AI products: desktop agents that are built to "optimize for information density and workflow execution," on the one hand, and mobile agents that "prioritize empathy, brevity, and personal guidance" on the other. The study reveals a relationship between humans and AI that's multifaceted and nuanced, according to Microsoft. "By disentangling seasonality, daily rhythms, and device-level differences, we move beyond the monolithic view of 'AI usage' to reveal a technology that has integrated into the full texture of human life," the company wrote in its report. The company obviously has good reason to paint this as a good thing for individuals and society at large; the more personal and work-related conversations people have with Microsoft's chatbot, the more effectively it will be able to craft its outputs to keep users engaged, giving it a sharper edge in its competition with other AI industry giants like Google, Anthropic, and Amazon. Also: FTC scrutinizes OpenAI, Meta, and others on AI companion safety for kids It's by no means clear, however, that a growing reliance on fallible chatbots for personal matters, such as health and relationships, is in our best interest. Some companies, like xAI and Meta, have actively leaned into so-called AI "companions" -- virtual avatars attached to large language models which can build fine-grained profiles of users over time -- as a means of commercializing AI, which could pose especially big risks for underage users. Still, while we should all be cautious about the personal information we choose to disclose to AI tools, and about the accuracy of the advice they give us in return, Microsoft's new study helps to reveal the fact that these systems are playing an increasingly central and influential role in the world -- for better or worse.

Microsoft research shows chatbots seeping into everyday life

Copilot - your cuddly companion for nighttime introspection Microsoft analyzed 37.5 million de-identified Copilot conversations from January to September 2025, excluding commercial and educational accounts. The findings reveal distinct usage patterns based on device, time, and day. Rather than focusing only on what users were doing with Copilot, Microsoft also looked at how and when they did it. The findings give an insight into how AI and assistants like Copilot are seeping into everyday life, according to Microsoft. Mobile users tended to ask Copilot health questions throughout the day, while desktop users were all business during working hours. Programming queries spiked on weekdays while chats about gaming rose over the weekend. Philosophical questions tended to increase at night. Researchers said: "These patterns paint a picture of rapid and deep social integration. Users have tacitly agreed to weave AI into the fabric of their daily existence, turning to it for code reviews at 10 am and existential clarity at 2 am." The idea of a user turning to Copilot, or any chatbot, for "existential clarity" is vaguely disturbing, although considering recent reports documenting the rise in the technology's use (alongside potential risks to mental health), it's not altogether surprising. A chatbot might also not be the right place to go for advice on health matters, though it is not a million miles from a consultation with Dr Google, just with a more conversational face. Another finding is the increase in topics not directly related to technical matters. Productivity-focused conversations dominated in January, but by September, other areas, including "society, culture, and history," had increased prevalence. "This likely reflects a dual dynamic," noted the researchers. "The broadening of habits among existing users, and the democratization of the user base as mainstream adopters - who may have less technical priorities than the developer-heavy cohort of early January - joined the platform." Copilot remains some way behind the leaders in terms of AI chatbot market share. The most recent Statcounter figures show that ChatGPT accounted for more than 80 percent of the market, while Copilot trailed at just over 3 percent. However, the finding that the chatbot is slipping into everyday life indicates a broader trend: AI assistants are moving inexorably from research tools to companions for the wider population. ®

Microsoft says its Copilot AI tool is a 'vital companion' in new analysis of 37.5M conversations

Microsoft has released one of its most detailed looks yet at how people use Copilot -- and the results suggest the AI assistant plays different roles depending on time of day and the device. In a new preprint titled "It's About Time: The Copilot Usage Report 2025," Microsoft AI researchers analyzed 37.5 million de-identified Copilot conversations between January and September of this year. Enterprise and school accounts were excluded, and machine classifiers labeled each chat by topic and "intent," such as searching for information, getting advice, or creating content. The top-line finding: on desktop computers, Copilot usage centers on work and technical questions during business hours. On mobile, it's about health -- all day, every day. "Health and Fitness" paired with information-seeking was the single most common topic-intent combination for mobile users, and stayed in the top spot every hour of the day across the nine-month window. The paper suggests this shows how people increasingly treat Copilot on their phones as a private advisor for personal questions, not just a search tool. On PCs, "Work and Career" overtakes "Technology" as the top topic between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., mirroring a traditional office schedule. Other work-related topics such as science and education also rise during the day and fade overnight. "The contrast between the desktop's professional utility and the mobile device's intimate consultation suggests that users are engaging with a single system in two ways: a colleague at their desk and a confidant in their pocket," Microsoft wrote in the study. Compared with January, the September data from Microsoft's study shows fewer programming conversations and more activity around culture and history -- a sign, the researchers say, that usage has broadened beyond early technical adopters into more mainstream, non-developer use cases. Usage reports from OpenAI and Anthropic found similar consumer patterns, with many people using ChatGPT and Claude for practical guidance, information, and writing help in their personal lives. Microsoft's new Copilot study adds a sharper twist: on desktops, AI looks like a co-worker; on phones, it looks a lot more like a health and life adviser. In a companion blog post, Microsoft said the study shows how Copilot "is way more than a tool: it's a vital companion for life's big and small moments." The study highlights a rise in advice-seeking, particularly around personal topics. This suggests people are turning to AI not just to offload tasks but to help make decisions -- which could raise the stakes for model builders around accuracy, trust and accountability. Microsoft's research team included Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman as a co-author. Each conversation was automatically stripped of personally identifiable information and no human reviewers saw the underlying chats, according to the paper.

AI chatbots are now integrated 'into the full texture of human life,' Microsoft study claims

There are clear differences between work and personal interactions A new December 2025 report from Microsoft has uncovered some key difference among Copilot users in terms of how and when people use AI, and it's based on 37.5 million de-identified Copilot conversations, so there's reason to believe the insights should be pretty accurate. Drawing a line right down the middle, Microsoft identified that desktop AI use was generally dominated by workers between 8am and 5pm, while mobile use skewed heavily toward personal topics, and was used at all hours. For personal users, health and fitness prevailed as a key topic, which Microsoft says proves AI is increasingly being trusted for advice, not just information gathering. The researchers stressed that enterprise and education data was excluded from the analytics, however millions of personal account holders still use the service for personal and work purposes alike. Microsoft found that programming peaks on weekdays, gaming rises on weekends, and philosophical questions spike late at night. Redmond claims that mainstream adoption is also on the rise, beyond early adoption among developers and some workers. In early 2025, Copilot was broadly used for technical and productivity workloads, but by September (the end of this particular study) it was answering more questions about society, culture, and history. Copilot even sees seasonal trends around the social calendar. For example, relationships and personal growth around Valentine's Day and a dip in education-related topics over the summer. With the new information, Microsoft has essentially told all AI chatbot developers how they can tailor their UI to usage patterns. "A desktop agent should optimize for information density and workflow execution, while a mobile agent might prioritize empathy, brevity, and personal guidance," the researchers concluded. "The data suggests that we are not just using AI to do our work faster; we are using it to navigate the complexities of being human, one prompt at a time," they added.

Exclusive: Microsoft research highlights Copilot's shift into intimate territory

Why it matters: Understanding how people use Copilot and similar tools is key to teasing out their benefits versus the risks. The big picture: Researchers found that on the desktop users see Copilot as a productivity tool. But on mobile they see it more as "a conversational partner." * This suggests the need for chatbot interfaces that are different depending on whether a user is on desktop or mobile. * "A desktop agent should optimize for information density and workflow execution," the researchers write in the report, "while a mobile agent might prioritize empathy, brevity, and personal guidance." What they did: Microsoft researchers analyzed 37.5 million conversations with Copilot between January and September 2025. * To preserve user privacy, the messages were stripped of personally identifiable details. * The research focused not just on what people do with AI, but on how and when they use it. The intrigue: Philosophical questions increase during late-night hours. Reality check: An always-online mentor/therapist/health coach bot can be helpful, but chatbots weren't designed for this kind of emotional support. * They have been known to get things wrong, tell you only what you want to hear, reinforce delusional behavior and encourage self-harm. * People share sensitive information in these chats, but those conversations lack the legal confidentiality of consultations with a doctor or lawyer. Yes, but: This is not Microsoft's first chatbot rodeo. It isn't a startup without experience in high-profile cases of chatbot relationships gone terribly awry. * "We are working to figure this out because there is so much potential upside here, but you really have to think about the kind of controls and guardrails around it," Sarah Bird, Microsoft's chief product officer of responsible AI, told Axios' Ina Fried on stage last week. * "The experience for one person might not be the right thing for someone else." * Microsoft researchers have been forced to think about chatbot guardrails since at least 2016 when its disastrous chatbot, Tay, began generating lewd and racist messages. Behind the scenes: The big AI companies originally steered away from pushing their chatbots as companions, Helen Toner -- formerly on OpenAI's board -- told Axios in an interview in October. "I think because they know that [AI and social connection] can be so dicey, and there's so many tricky issues to navigate," Toner said. * But AI devotees are turning out to be loyal to their bot of choice for productivity tasks and want to use it for everything else, whether it's purpose-built for that or not. The bottom line: Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic are racing to win long-term users.