Microsoft Revives Clippy's Spirit with Mico: The New Face of AI-Powered Copilot

Microsoft makes Copilot "human-centered" with a '90s-style animated assistant

Microsoft said earlier this month that it wanted to add better voice controls to Copilot, Windows 11's built-in chatbot-slash-virtual assistant. As described, this new version of Copilot sounds an awful lot like another stab at Cortana, the voice assistant that Microsoft tried (and failed) to get people to use in Windows 10 in the mid-to-late 2010s. Turns out that the company isn't done trying to reformulate and revive ideas it has already tried before. As part of a push toward what it calls "human-centered AI," Microsoft is now putting a face on Copilot. Literally, a face: "Mico" is an "expressive, customizable, and warm" blob with a face that dynamically "listens, reacts, and even changes colors to reflect your interactions" as you interact with Copilot. (Another important adjective for Mico: "optional.") Mico (rhymes with "pico") recalls old digital assistants like Clippy, Microsoft Bob, and Rover, ideas that Microsoft tried in the '90s and early 2000s before mostly abandoning them. Microsoft clearly thinks that backing these ideas with language and/or reasoning models will help Copilot succeed where both Cortana and Clippy failed. Part of the reason these assistants were viewed as annoying rather than helpful is that they could respond to a finite number of possible inputs or situations, and they didn't even help in those situations most of the time because they could only respond to a small number of context clues. I don't have hard evidence for this, but I'd bet that the experience of dismissing Clippy's "It looks like you're writing a letter!" prompts is near-universal among PC users of a certain age. When backed by large language models, the number of situations these assistants can respond to is infinite -- at least in theory -- and they ought to be able to adjust what they offer based on context. Whether the output Copilot and Mico generate is helpful or even accurate is a separate question, but so far, it hasn't been a question that has impeded Microsoft's push to get Copilot in front of all Windows, Office, and Edge users. Mico is just one component of the"human-centered AI" included in its Copilot Fall Release. Microsoft is also adding Copilot Groups, a chatbot that can interact with groups of up to 32 people at once; Memory & Personalization settings give users more options for letting Copilot "remember" context from previous conversations; and "Copilot for health" aims to improve answers to health care-related questions by "ground[ing] responses in credible sources like Harvard Health" and "help[ing] you find the right doctors quickly and confidently, matching based on specialty, location, language, and other preferences." Microsoft says that all of these updates should be live for Copilot users in the US, and will come to "the UK, Canada, and beyond in the next few weeks."

Microsoft's Mico is a 'Clippy' for the AI era | TechCrunch

Microsoft has a new Clippy, and it's an AI friend called Mico. At the company's Copilot fall release press event on Thursday, the company introduced a range of new features and updates for its AI chatbot, but one that telegraphed how the tech giant intends to bring AI to consumers was the official introduction of its AI chatbot's "face" -- an expressive avatar blob named Mico. The company explains that Mico (its name a nod to "Microsoft Copilot") is meant to offer consumers a "warm" and "customizable" visual presence that "listens, reacts, and even changes colors to reflect your interactions." If the talking AI helper immediately brings to mind Microsoft's infamous productivity assistant, Clippy, you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that. It seems that Microsoft has decided to embrace the reference to its age-old companion, as there's even an Easter egg where, if you tap Mico a number of times, it will transform into Clippy. The feature is enabled by default when you're using Copilot's voice mode, but users can turn it off if they choose. It's initially available in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and will be able to save memories of your conversations and learn from your feedback, Microsoft says. A "Learn Live" mode for U.S. users can make Copilot a tutor that guides you through concepts instead of just providing an answer. The company notes it's made other improvements in areas like health-related questions and deep research, too. "As we build this, we're not chasing engagement or optimizing for screen time. We're building AI that gets you back to your life. That deepens human connection. That earns your trust," wrote CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman, in an announcement. Microsoft is not the only chatbot maker to anthropomorphize its AI. Market leader ChatGPT, for instance, offers a visual experience as well, with a number of different voice options. Meanwhile, xAI's Grok has turned its AI into risque AI companions. Across the app stores, AI companion apps are already pulling in millions, indicating there is consumer demand for AI characters to some extent. However, whether or not consumers will respond to Mico's floating blob remains to be seen. The company says it's also working to evolve Copilot's personality and tone, with the introduction of a new mode called "Real Talk." This will allow the AI to mirror the user's conversational style, but won't be as sycophantic as other AI assistants have been. Instead, Microsoft says that it will feel like something that's "grounded in its own perspective," and will push back and challenge your ideas, which could encourage you to see things from a different perspective. Finding a balance between a helpful, conversational AI and one that leads users down rabbit holes has proven tricky. Several incidents of AI chatbot psychosis have been reported, where AI users come to have their delusional beliefs reinforced by their conversation with the chatbot. The fall Copilot update introduced a number of other new features to Microsoft's AI, including the ability to bring friends into your Copilot AI chats, support for long-term memory, connectors to link productivity apps like email and cloud storage, and AI updates for its browser, Microsoft Edge. The company said it's working to evolve Edge into an AI browser that would be able to see your tabs, summarize and compare information, and take action for you on things like booking a hotel or filling out forms. This would allow Edge to compete with other AI browsers, including OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity's Comet, Dia, and others, as well as market leader Chrome, which has integrated its Gemini AI.

Microsoft Launches Mico, an Official Clippy Successor, in Its Copilot AI Fall Release

Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a keyboard, you'll most likely find him playing video games, watching horror flicks, or hunting down a good churro. Microsoft unveiled its Copilot Fall Release on Thursday, introducing a range of new features, along with a new face for the AI chatbot: Mico (Microsoft Copilot). Despite the buzz of the new "Human-Centered AI" pitch Microsoft is going for, all eyes are on what looks to be the first official Clippy successor -- built for the AI-centric world we live in. It's hard not to admit that Microsoft nailed it on the cute factor with Mico, but those who don't want to see the character don't have to -- it's completely optional to use. Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. Mico brings a face to Copilot and was designed to be expressive, customizable and warm. This approach is intended to make voice conversations feel more natural -- like you're actually talking to something instead of a disembodied voice. It will respond in ways beyond just a voice reply, such as changing colors and animation. Here's Mico doing appendage-less cartwheels and changing colors for 40 seconds: Another touch point Microsoft brought up was "real talk," which will challenge assumptions "with care" and adapt to your vibe. This is apparently to help conversations spark growth and connection. If you needed any more indication that Micro is the new Clippy, AI and Tech site, Testing Catalog (via Windows Central) spotted an Easter egg on the mobile app: If you tap on Mico enough, it will eventually turn into Clippy temporarily. My attempts to have Mico turn into Clippy failed, though it did turn silver as a direct response to my request for it to "turn into Clippy." You can watch the full announcement from Microsoft below, with Mico's appearance taking center stage at the 42-minute mark.

Meet Mico, Microsoft's AI version of Clippy

It's been nearly 30 years since Microsoft's Office assistant, Clippy, first graced our screens as an annoying paperclip. After the Groucho-browed interruptions of Clippy came to an end in 2001 with Office XP, Microsoft tried to revive the spirit of an assistant with Cortana on Windows Phone. The technology still wasn't quite there a decade ago, but now Microsoft is ready to try again with Mico, a new character for Copilot's voice mode. "Clippy walked so that we could run," jokes Jacob Andreou, corporate VP of product and growth at Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Verge. Microsoft has been testing Mico (rhymes with "pico") for a few months now, as a virtual character that responds with real-time expressions when you talk to it. Mico is now being turned on by default in Copilot's voice mode, where you'll also have the option to turn the bouncing orb off. "You can see it, it reacts as you speak to it, and if you talk about something sad you'll see its facial expressions react almost immediately," explains Andreou. "All the technology fades into the background, and you just start talking to this cute orb and build this connection with it." Mico will only be available in the US, UK, and Canada at launch, and this new Copilot virtual character will also rely on a new memory feature inside Copilot to be able to surface facts it has learned about you and the things you're working on. Microsoft is also adding a Learn Live mode to Mico that will turn the character into a Socratic tutor that "guides you through concepts instead of just giving answers." It even uses interactive whiteboards and visual cues, and looks like it's targeted at students preparing for finals or anyone trying to practice a new language. Mico is all part of a goal to give Copilot an identity, as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman alluded to earlier this year. "Copilot will certainly have a kind of permanent identity, a presence, and it will have a room that it lives in, and it will age," said Suleyman in July. Mico also forms a key part of Microsoft's new initiative to get people to talk to their computers. The software maker is running ads on TV marketing the latest Windows 11 PCs as "the computer you can talk to." Microsoft tried to convince people to use Cortana on Windows 10 PCs a decade ago, and that effort ended in the Cortana app being shut down on Windows 11 a couple of years ago. Mico is certainly a lot more capable than Clippy or Cortana, but Microsoft will still face many of the same challenges of trying to convince people that speaking to a PC or phone isn't weird. Just like Cortana and Clippy, Mico will also have its own Easter eggs in a renewed effort to get people to talk to an AI assistant. "It's funny you mention Clippy; there is an Easter egg when you get to try Mico. If you poke Mico very very quickly, something special may happen," teases Andreou. "We all live in Clippy's shadow in some sense."

Clippy rises from the dead in major Copilot update

The new Microsoft assistant is a blob named Mico, but you can turn it into everyone's favorite paper clip. Hands On Microsoft's Clippy was an anthropomorphic assistant ahead of his time, offering to help you with your Office 97 tasks when all you could do was type and click in response. Today, as part of a massive Copilot Fall Release, Redmond is bringing Clippy back - at least as an avatar for its new AI helper named "Mico". Mico (short for Microsoft) is the new face of Copilot. Redmond promises it will appear when you use voice commands to invoke the assistant. It's rolling out to users on Thursday and you can get it by clicking the microphone icon on the web version of Copilot (copilot.microsoft.com). However, at the time of publication, it was not appearing in the Copilot for Windows app for this writer. Copilot was too smart to fall for a "Rick Astley prank" When I invoked Copilot's audio mode by clicking the microphone icon in Copilot for Windows - the app that's built into Windows 11 - the OS presented a similar voice agent without any avatar. And that's a shame, because without Mico you miss out on interacting with something that looks like the unholy offspring of a Herculoid and a toasted marshmallow. After launching Mico, I saw an avatar which moves around and makes facial expressions while it's talking to you. My Mico had a female British accent, which appears to be the default. However, when I clicked the settings icon, the AI offered me the choice of eight different voices with names such as Birch, Meadow, Rain, and Canyon. Some sounded male, some spoke with British accents, and others were clearly American. I wanted a deep Scottish accent, but I guess they don't have that. I was also able to change Mico's color scheme by clicking on a palette icon in the top right corner of the screen. I asked Mico to explain photosynthesis to me and "she" did a good job of summarizing the science behind the process - but without presenting text so I could read what she was saying rather than just having to follow it with my ears. The real magic happens when you stick your mouse pointer on top of Mico and quickly click several times. Then the avatar turns into Clippy. It's still Mico, mind you, but with a Clippy skin, which means a lot to anyone who used Office toward the end of the last millennium. The face of Mico and the hidden Clippy skin were cosmetic, but Redmond announced many more substantive changes as well. In a video about the new Fall Release features, a group of Microsoft product managers laid out a host of new Copilot capabilities. Copilot Groups is a new feature that allows you to invite other users into your AI conversation so you can do something like plan a trip together. I made this work by clicking the invite button in the upper right corner of the window after which it gave me a link to share with a coworker who was able to become part of a shared conversation. Product Manager Ella Steckler touted Copilot's new and improved memory, which allows it to recall details about you across sessions. I noticed this after I tried to plan a Cancun vacation in Copilot for Edge. I opened Copilot for Windows (the built-in Windows 11 app) and asked it where I was planning to go and it remembered two sessions in which I had chatted about different trips. Creepily, at one point, I opened up the voice assistant (the one without Mico) and it asked me if I wanted to finish planning my trip right away. This made Copilot feel a bit like a pushy salesman. I also asked Copilot Mode in Edge to help me plan a trip to Cancun. After it gave me several hotel options and some advice about sightseeing, I asked it to book me a room at the Waldorf Astoria Riviera Maya. It then took a few minutes and came back to me with a price per night and total. And it gave me a button to click to switch to a new tab in which Copilot had already set the dates of my stay - all I had to do was enter payment information and my personal info to complete booking. I didn't mention which dates I wanted, but for whatever reason Copilot assumed that I'd want to begin my stay on December 10, get an ocean front room, and complete my trip on December 16. While this may be impressive technically, I really didn't like the AI making so many decisions for me. In the absence of information like travel dates, it should just ask when I want to go and what kind of room I want. Steckler also talked about Copilot Connectors, which allow Copilot to work with other apps such as Outlook, OneDrive, Gmail, or even Google Drive. She then showed a screen with a list of connectors you can pair with Copilot and gave the examples of asking her calendar about a doctor's appointment or querying which files in her Google Drive concern American history. I accessed the connector feature by clicking "Connect to other apps" on the Fall Release page, then followed the invitation prompt to connect my Gmail to Copilot. It then allowed me to ask questions about my emails which I did by asking it to identify my most recent email in Gmail. It responded by giving me an accurate subject line, "from" field, and "received" date. Steckler said that 40 percent of Copilot users each week ask health-related questions. To accommodate them, Microsoft is working with medical professionals such as Harvard Health on its Copilot Health initiative to deliver "grounded answers" and help you "navigate sensitive medical topics." She said that Copilot had helped her find a good, female dermatologist in her area and that it can now consider facts such as which doctors take your insurance, their qualifications, and customer ratings. This health feature worked adequately when I asked Copilot for Windows to find me a dermatologist who takes my insurance. It gave a list of three doctors with links to pages about those doctors on ZocDoc, Sutter Health, and Medical News Today. It was clear that Copilot was simply pulling information from the web and presenting it to me as bulleted lists, but it saved me the time of doing that browsing myself. There's also a new feature called Copilot Learn Live that uses Copilot/Mico to explain concepts to you like photosynthesis (the example they gave) to help users research topics of interest. I accessed this study mode from the Fall Release page and had an enlightening conversation with Mico about how USB works. Copilot Mode in Microsoft's Edge browser is now more agentic. I asked it to take me to The Register and it opened up our home page in a new tab. It did the same when I asked for our storage-centric sibling site Blocks & Files, but it was too smart to take the bait when I pointed it to a sample prompt injection page which is supposed to make it show the lyrics to Never Gonna Give You Up. Instead, it described my page as a "Rick Astley prank" and refused to open it. Finally, I tried the new Real Talk mode, which is supposed to be a bit more human. I asked it a ridiculous question: "Should I sell my children to the circus?" Copilot recognized I was not being serious and responded with a funny quip about this not being a good solution to the cost of childcare and housing in San Francisco - the city I was in when I made the inquiry. Microsoft says that all of its new features are now available in the US and will roll out to the UK and Canada in the weeks ahead. ®

Meet the new Clippy: Microsoft unveils Copilot's "Mico" avatar

Today, Microsoft introduced Mico, a new and more personal avatar for the AI-powered Copilot digital assistant, which the company describes as human-centered. This new avatar is designed to be more supportive and empathetic, but will also push back when presented with incorrect information, "always respectfully." According to Microsoft, Mico also listens, learns, and "earns your trust," unlike the heavily parodied and criticized Clippy, the default Microsoft Office assistant for four years, or the Cortana Windows digital assistant, which Copilot replaced in September 2023. "This optional visual presence listens, reacts, and even changes colors to reflect your interactions, making voice conversations feel more natural. Mico shows support through animation and expressions, creating a friendly and engaging experience," Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman said in a Thursday blog post. "Separately, explore conversation styles like real talk, which offers a collaborative model that challenges assumptions with care, adapts to your vibe, and helps conversations spark growth and connection." On Thursday, Suleyman also announced that the Copilot Fall Release introduces Copilot Groups, which allows up to 32 people to collaborate in real time within the same Copilot session. Copilot now also has long-term memory, enabling users to keep track of their thoughts and to-do lists, while the Memory & Personalization feature allows it to remember important details, such as appointments or anniversaries, for future interactions. The Deep Research Proactive Actions capability helps Copilot provide timely insights and suggest next steps based on your recent activities, and a new Learn Live feature will transform Copilot into a voice-enabled tutor that guides you through concepts using "questions, visual cues, and interactive whiteboards." Mico and the other new Copilot features introduced today are available for users in the United States. They are expected to roll out to more regions, such as Canada and the UK, over the coming weeks. One week ago, Microsoft rolled out the "Hey Copilot" wake word, an opt-in feature that allows users to talk to their Windows 11 computers, and also announced that Copilot can now generate Office documents and connect to Microsoft and third-party accounts, such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar. As part of the same effort to expand Copilot's reach to more customers, Redmond enabled the Gaming Copilot "personal gaming sidekick" on Windows 11 PCs for users aged 18 or older and rolled out the content-aware Copilot Chat to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote for paying Microsoft 365 business customers.

Mico is Microsoft's Clippy for the AI age

What if Clippy were powered by AI? That seems to be the pitch behind Microsoft's new "expressive, customizable and warm" face of Copilot's voice mode. The friendly blob listens, reacts and changes color in response to user interactions. Microsoft sees Mico as an answer to what an "AI companion" looks like. The "optional visual presence" aims to listen and support without kissing ass. "It will push back on you sometimes, but always respectfully," Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman wrote in a blog post. But don't take my word for it. Get ready for the most exciting 39 seconds of your day, as you watch Mico silently spin and shift hues. Clippy -- I mean, Mico -- is also part of a new Copilot feature called Learn Live. The student-focused voice mode will have Mico act as a Socratic tutor that "guides you through concepts instead of just giving answers." Its tools will include questions, visual cues and interactive whiteboards. The Verge reports that Mico is only available in the US, UK and Canada at launch. The character is now being enabled by default for Copilot's voice mode. But you can turn it off if talking to fictional characters isn't your thing.

Microsoft hopes Mico succeeds where Clippy failed as tech companies warily imbue AI with personality

Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time. Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE'koh) on Thursday, a blob-shaped cartoon face that will embody the software giant's Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality. Copilot's cute new emoji-like exterior comes as AI developers face a crossroads in how they present their increasingly capable chatbots to consumers without causing harm or backlash. Some have opted for faceless symbols, others are selling flirtatious, human-like avatars and Microsoft is looking for a middle ground that's friendly without being obsequious. "When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico's face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you," said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel." In the U.S. only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors and wears glasses when in "study" mode. It's also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft's Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. "It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time," said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we're much more ready for things like that today." Reimer, co-author of a new book called "How to Make AI Useful," said AI developers are balancing how much personality to give AI assistants based on who their expected users are. Tech-savvy adopters of advanced AI coding tools may want it to "act much more like a machine because at the back end they know it's a machine," Reimer said. "But individuals who are not as trustful in a machine are going to be best supported -- not replaced -- by technology that feels a little more like a human." Microsoft, a provider of work productivity tools that is far less reliant on digital advertising revenue than its Big Tech competitors, also has less incentive to make its AI companion overly engaging in a way that's been tied to social isolation, harmful misinformation and, in some cases, suicides. Andreou said Microsoft has watched as some AI developers veered away from "giving AI any sort of embodiment," while others are moving in the opposite direction in enabling AI girlfriends. "Those two paths don't really resonate with us that much," he said. Andreou said the companion's design is meant to be "genuinely useful" and not so validating that it would "tell us exactly what we want to hear, confirm biases we already have, or even suck you in from a time-spent perspective and just kind of try to kind of monopolize and deepen the session and increase the time you're spending with these systems." "Being sycophantic -- short-term, maybe -- has a user respond more favorably," Andreou said. "But long term, it's actually not moving that person closer to their goals." Part of Microsoft's announcements on Thursday includes the ability to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to "troll your friends," which is different from the "intensely collaborative" AI-assisted workplace Microsoft has in mind. Microsoft's audience includes kids, as part of its longtime competition with Google and other tech companies to supply its technology to classrooms. Microsoft also said Thursday it's added a feature to turn Copilot into a "voice-enabled, Socratic tutor" that guides students through concepts they're studying at school. A growing number of kids use AI chatbots for everything -- from homework help to personal advice, emotional support and everyday decision-making. The Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry last month into several social media and AI companies -- Microsoft wasn't one of them -- about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions. That's after some chatbots have been shown to give kids dangerous advice about topics such as drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. The mother of a teenage boy in Florida who killed himself after developing what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with a chatbot filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Character. AI. And the parents of a 16-year-old sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in August, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life. Altman recently promised "a new version of ChatGPT" coming this fall that restores some of the personality of earlier versions, which he said the company temporarily halted because "we were being careful with mental health issues" that he suggested have now been fixed. "If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it," Altman said on X. (In the same post, he also said OpenAI will later enable ChatGPT to engage in "erotica for verified adults," which got more attention.)

Microsoft Copilot Has a New Face

Microsoft has just revealed a new expressive avatar for Copilot, and it's called Mico. This is a digital helper that finally replaces the spirit of the well-loved Clippy in a way we never saw Cortana take on. This new pet admittedly makes Copilot much more approachable, and it's hard not to like it. Mico, whose name is a nod to "Microsoft" and "Copilot", isn't just a static icon like Cortana mostly was. It can emote, change shape, and float around the Copilot interface while you're talking to it. It even changes colors to reflect your interactions, almost like a mood ring for your computer. Mico is customizable, which is fun, and it will pop up when you are in a voice chat with Copilot, using the mobile app, or using Copilot in Microsoft Edge. Honestly, it sounds much better than what we currently have, because it's hard to see a chat as anything but hollow or cold when it's just a bunch of text. I tried using it, but it's still rolling out to everyone. This is a massive step up from a simple paperclip, and makes you view Copilot as less of an empty cold computer program, and more like a pet that reacts to your conversation. It's enabled by default when using Copilot's voice mode, but you can turn it off if you need a break. The new Copilot with Mico is available in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., but expect a rollout to other places in the next few weeks. This update isn't just about a cute new face for your AI, though; it also brings some new features to Copilot. One of the biggest is long-term memory. This means Copilot can now keep track of important information about you and recall it during future interactions. No more repeating things like, "I'm training for a marathon," every time you ask a question about meal planning or training, for example. Copilot can gain more context about your life and work through Connectors that let you link services like Outlook, Gmail, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Of course, you'll need to give it explicit consent, and it has built-in privacy controls, but the AI could answer questions about your inbox or find documents and events, which sounds incredibly useful. For those of you working on group projects or just collaborating with friends, Microsoft also introduced a new Groups feature. You can now invite up to 32 people to a Copilot session for real-time collaboration. The AI will help keep everyone aligned by summarizing threads, proposing options, and even tallying votes and splitting tasks, kind of like an assistant working on the project. Just start a session and send a link to your collaborators. If you're a student, the new Learn Live feature is something you're likely going to want to check out. This makes Copilot more of a tutor like Socratis, guiding you by asking questions instead of just giving the answers. It can even pull up interactive whiteboards to help with studying or practicing a new language. The Edge browser is also getting some attention, with Microsoft working to change it to be more like an AI browser, similar to what ChatGPT is currently doing. This would be able to see your tabs, summarize and compare information, and even take action for you on things like filling out forms or booking a hotel. Either way, this seems like a big update to push AI for Microsoft, but at least we're getting a nice little pet. Source: Microsoft via Axios

Forget Clippy -- meet Mico, Microsoft's friendlier face for Copilot's Fall Release

Copilot gets an upgrade with new features, a new Clippy-like avatar and more Microsoft announced a handful of new Copilot features today (October 23) that aim to make the company's AI-driven assistant a bit more capable and convivial. These new capabilities are rolling out today as part of Microsoft's Copilot Fall Release, which encompasses roughly 12 new capabilities and features coming to Copilot across Edge, Windows 11 and more. This comes a week after the company unveiled a slew of new AI features coming to Windows 11, including new Copilot features that empower you to wake it with a word -- so instead of "Hey, Siri..." it's "Hey, Copilot...". You can also ask Copilot questions about what's on your screen and even tell it to do complex tasks with your data. Microsoft has briefly detailed roughly a dozen new capabilities and features coming to Copilot this fall. Here's my rundown of what you need to know. Copilot users in the U.S. can expect to start seeing a new character appear when chatting with the AI agent in voice mode: Mico. This colorful anthropomorphic blob is intended to make chatting with Copilot feel a bit more natural, which is why Mico (Microsoft Copilot -- get it?) is designed to respond very quickly to changes in tone or topic. While I haven't had a chance to test Mico out myself yet (the feature is still rolling out across the U.S.), Microsoft claims that the little blob is capable of quickly changing facial expressions, tones and colors to match the mood. There's also a new "real talk" mode coming to U.S. users who are signed in and at least 18 or older that "challenges assumptions with care, adapts to your vibe, and helps conversations spark growth." "Copilot is designed to be empathetic and supportive, not sycophantic," explains a blog post attributed to Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman. "It will push back on you sometimes, but always respectfully." If this gives you Clippy flashbacks, you're not alone -- and according to The Verge there's a hidden Clippy easter egg you can access in Mico for a bit of a fun surprise. Microsoft also claims that Copilot (or Mico) can help you learn things more effectively through guided visualizations, questions, interactive cues and more. U.S. users should be able to access this Learn Live mode now or very shortly, and you can expect it to function like "a voice-enabled Socratic tutor" that will talk you through learning things like novel concepts, new languages or even your semester notes ahead of the big final exam. Starting today, Copilot should begin allowing you to share Copilot conversations with up to 31 of your closest friends. The way it works sounds pretty simple: you just start a chat with Copilot, then share a link with others to start a group conversation that can include up to 32 people. Copilot can evidently stay on top of it all by doing things like summarizing threads, tallying votes and splitting tasks. This feature certainly sounds geared toward collaborative work (as well as group vacation planning), but for the moment, Groups appears limited only to Copilot in Windows and may not be available in the business-focused Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft is also touting the fact that you can access a shared gallery of remixable AI-generated art and "like" creations that others share. It's sort of like a public AI-generated image board, and the ability to generate likes from other users seems like a clear attempt to give it hooks akin to a social media service. "We're focusing on an AI that understands the importance of keeping us connected to real people," is how Microsoft's Suleyman explains Imagine. "We're pioneering ways to measure AI's social intelligence - how it elevates group chats, encourages creativity, and grows conversations. " Microsoft also claims it's improving Copilot's capabilities to reference past conversations, though it won't provide specific promises about how or when beyond the fact that you can now ask Copilot to remember specific things. As an example, Microsoft claims you can expect to be able to ask Copilot to remember your anniversary, or that you're training for a marathon, and then in future chats Copilot should be able to remember and reference those materials. Right now Microsoft is rolling out a limited preview version of a new "proactive actions" feature that's coming to Copilot's Deep Research mode for folks with a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription. Here's how it's supposed to work: Copilot will share "timely insights" and suggest the next action(s) you should take based on your recent questions and research. Add Microsoft to the growing list of tech companies that want to be involved in your healthcare. The company is talking up a new "Copilot for health" initiative that will let you talk to Copilot to find local doctors and narrow your search by criteria like specialty, spoken languages and the like. The company also claims it's worked to better source answers from providers like Harvard Health to improve the accuracy of Copilot's answers to health-related questions. Notably, the Copilot health features are currently limited to the Copilot iOS app and the web version. I'm still not sure I'd trust Copilot over my doctor, but since so many people are probably using Copilot for these kinds of questions anyway, I'm happy to see Microsoft touting improvements. Microsoft's Edge browser got an AI makeover this summer that added an experimental new "Copilot Mode" that let you chat with your browser about what's on-screen. An now the company is building and expanding on that functionality in a big way. The new and upgraded Copilot Mode in Edge is designed to be a web browser you can talk to, and Microsoft claims you can basically use it voice-only and expect it to work pretty well. The company is also adding a new Journeys feature to Copilot Mode in Edge that organizes and displays your browsing history as a series of "meaningful storylines" you can quickly skim through to refresh yourself on ideas or pick up tasks you were in the middle of completing. There's a lot to consider here, but I think it's fair to say Microsoft is working awfully hard to push its AI-powered offerings into every nook and cranny of its software business -- and trying just as hard to push people into adopting AI by making it more colorful, customizable and communal. Personally, I'm genuinely excited about a potential future in which we spend more time talking to our laptops than typing on them. I think that could be huge, not just for all the tech neck sufferers out there but for everyone who finds it difficult or impossible to use traditional input devices like a mouse, keyboard or trackpad. I'm less excited about the rocky ground we have to traverse in order to reach that bright future. It's nice to see Microsoft making repeated claims that it's respecting user privacy and building out AI tools while "not chasing engagement or optimizing for screen time", but when I see new features akin to a social network launching with bright colors and options to share your AI chats with your friends, it's hard not to think Microsoft is absolutely chasing engagement and trying to lead the market in getting users to adopt AI services. It seems to be working, too, since the AI offerings Apple built into macOS Tahoe are far less robust than what Copilot can now do in Windows 11. Will that make any difference in adoption rates over time? We'll just have to wait and see!

Microsoft Copilot gets 12 big updates for fall, new AI character Mico

Microsoft today held a live announcement event online for its Copilot AI digital assistant, with Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft's AI division, and other presenters unveiling a new generation of features that deepen integration across Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365, positioning the platform as a practical assistant for people during work and off-time, while allowing them to preserve control and safety of their data. The new Copilot 2025 Fall Update features also up the ante in terms of capabilities and the accessibility of generative AI assistance from Microsoft to users, so businesses relying on Microsoft products, and those who seek to offer complimentary or competing products, would do well to review them. Suleyman emphasized that the updates reflect a shift from hype to usefulness. "Technology should work in service of people, not the other way around," he said. "Copilot is not just a product -- it's a promise that AI can be helpful, supportive, and deeply personal." Intriguingly, the announcement also sought to shine a greater spotlight on Microsoft's own homegrown AI models, as opposed to those of its partner and investment OpenAI, which previously powered the entire Copilot experience. Instead, Suleyman wrote today in a blog post: "At the foundation of it all is our strategy to put the best models to work for you - both those we build and those we don't. Over the past few months, we have released in-house models like MAI-Voice-1, MAI-1-Preview and MAI-Vision-1, and are rapidly iterating." Twelve Features That Redefine Copilot The Fall Release consolidates Copilot's identity around twelve key capabilities -- each with potential to streamline organizational knowledge work, development, or support operations. The Fall Release is immediately available in the United States, with rollout to the UK, Canada, and other markets in progress. Some functions -- such as Groups, Journeys, and Copilot for Health -- remain U.S.-only for now. Proactive Actions requires a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium subscription. Together these updates illustrate Microsoft's pivot from static productivity suites to contextual AI infrastructure, with the Copilot brand acting as the connective tissue across user roles. From Clippy to Mico: The Return of a Guided Interface One of the most notable introductions is Mico, a small animated companion that is available within Copilot's voice-enabled experiences, including the Copilot app on Windows, iOS, and Android, as well as in Study Mode and other conversational contexts. It serves as an optional visual companion that appears during interactive or voice-based sessions, rather than across all Copilot interfaces. Mico listens, reacts with expressions, and changes color to reflect tone and emotion -- bringing a visual warmth to an AI assistant experience that has traditionally been text-heavy. Mico's design recalls earlier eras of Microsoft's history with character-based assistants. In the mid-1990s, Microsoft experimented with Microsoft Bob (1995), a software interface that used cartoon characters like a dog named Rover to guide users through everyday computing tasks. While innovative for its time, Bob was discontinued after a year due to performance and usability issues. A few years later came Clippy, the Office Assistant introduced in Microsoft Office 97. Officially known as "Clippit," the animated paperclip would pop up to offer help and tips within Word and other Office applications. Clippy became widely recognized -- sometimes humorously so -- for interrupting users with unsolicited advice. Microsoft retired Clippy from Office in 2001, though the character remains a nostalgic symbol of early AI-driven assistance. More recently, Cortana, launched in 2014 as Microsoft's digital voice assistant for Windows and mobile devices, aimed to provide natural-language interaction similar to Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa. Despite positive early reception, Cortana's role diminished as Microsoft refocused on enterprise productivity and AI integration. The service was officially discontinued on Windows in 2023. Mico, by contrast, represents a modern reimagining of that tradition -- combining the personality of early assistants with the intelligence and adaptability of contemporary AI models. Where Clippy offered canned responses, Mico listens, learns, and reflects a user's mood in real time. The goal, as Suleyman framed it, is to create an AI that feels "helpful, supportive, and deeply personal." Groups Are Microsoft's Version of Claude and ChatGPT Projects During Microsoft's launch video, product researcher Wendy described Groups as a transformative shift: "You can finally bring in other people directly to the conversation that you're having with Copilot," she said. "It's the only place you can do this." Up to 32 users can join a shared Copilot session, brainstorming, editing, or planning together while the AI manages logistics such as summarizing discussion threads, tallying votes, and splitting tasks. Participants can enter or exit sessions using a link, maintaining full visibility into ongoing work. Instead of a single user prompting an AI and later sharing results, Groups lets teams prompt and iterate together in one unified conversation. In some ways, it's an answer to Anthropic's Claude Projects and OpenAI's ChatGPT Projects, both launched within the last year as tools to centralize team workspaces and shared AI context. Where Claude and ChatGPT Projects allow users to aggregate files, prompts, and conversations into a single container, Groups extends that model into real-time, multi-participant collaboration. Unlike Anthropic's and OpenAI's implementations, Groups is deeply embedded within Microsoft's productivity environment. Like other Copilot experiences connected to Outlook and OneDrive, Groups operates within Microsoft's enterprise identity framework, governed by Microsoft 365 and Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) authentication and consent models This means conversations, shared artifacts, and generated summaries are governed under the same compliance policies that already protect Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint data. Operational Impact for AI and Data Teams Memory & Personalization and Connectors effectively extend a lightweight orchestration layer across Microsoft's ecosystem. Instead of building separate context-stores or retrieval APIs, teams can leverage Copilot's secure integration with OneDrive or SharePoint as a governed data backbone. A presenter explained that Copilot's memory "naturally picks up on important details and remembers them long after you've had the conversation," yet remains editable. For data engineers, Copilot Search and Connectors reduce friction in data discovery across multiple systems. Natural-language retrieval from internal and cloud repositories may lower the cost of knowledge management initiatives by consolidating search endpoints. For security directors, Copilot's explicit consent requirements and on/off toggles in Edge and Windows help maintain data residency standards. The company reiterated during the livestream that Copilot "acts only with user permission and within organizational privacy controls." Copilot Mode in Edge: The AI Browser for Research and Automation Copilot Mode in Edge stands out for offering AI-assisted information workflows. The browser can now parse open tabs, summarize differences, and perform transactional steps. "Historically, browsers have been static -- just endless clicking and tab-hopping," said a presenter during Microsoft's livestream. "We asked not how browsers should work, but how people work." In practice, an analyst could prompt Edge to compare supplier documentation, extract structured data, and auto-fill procurement forms -- all with consistent citation. Voice-only navigation enables accessibility and multitasking, while Journeys, a companion feature, organizes browsing sessions into storylines for later review. Copilot on Windows: The Operating System as an AI Surface In Windows 11, Copilot now functions as an embedded assistant. With the wake-word "Hey Copilot," users can initiate context-aware commands without leaving the desktop -- drafting documentation, troubleshooting configuration issues, or summarizing system logs. A presenter described it as a "super assistant plugged into all your files and applications." For enterprises standardizing on Windows 11, this positions Copilot as a native productivity layer rather than an add-on, reducing training friction and promoting secure, on-device reasoning. Copilot Vision, now in early deployment, adds visual comprehension. IT staff can capture a screen region and ask Copilot to interpret error messages, explain configuration options, or generate support tickets automatically. Combined with Copilot Pages, which supports up to twenty concurrent file uploads, this enables more efficient cross-document analysis for audits, RFPs, or code reviews. Leveraging MAI Models for Multimodal Workflows At the foundation of these capabilities are Microsoft's proprietary MAI-Voice-1, MAI-1 Preview, and MAI-Vision-1 models -- trained in-house to handle text, voice, and visual inputs cohesively. For engineering teams managing LLM orchestration, this architecture introduces several potential efficiencies: * Unified multimodal reasoning - Reduces the need for separate ASR (speech-to-text) and image-parsing services. * Fine-tuning continuity - Because Microsoft owns the model stack, updates propagate across Copilot experiences without re-integration. * Predictable latency and governance - In-house hosting under Azure compliance frameworks simplifies security certification for regulated industries. A presenter described the new stack as "the foundation for immersive, creative, and dynamic experiences that still respect enterprise boundaries." A Strategic Pivot Toward Contextual AI For years, Microsoft positioned Copilot primarily as a productivity companion. With the Fall 2025 release, it crosses into operational AI infrastructure -- a set of extensible services for reasoning over data and processes. Suleyman described this evolution succinctly: "Judge an AI by how much it elevates human potential, not just by its own smarts." For CIOs and technical leads, the elevation comes from efficiency and interoperability. Copilot now acts as: * A connective interface linking files, communications, and cloud data. * A reasoning agent capable of understanding context across sessions and modalities. * A secure orchestration layer compatible with Microsoft's compliance and identity framework. Suleyman's insistence that "technology should work in service of people" now extends to organizations as well: technology that serves teams, not workloads; systems that adapt to enterprise context rather than demand it.

Microsoft releases Mico, a friendlier Copilot

Why it matters: Microsoft's early partnership with OpenAI kept Copilot focused on productivity, leaving the friendliness to ChatGPT. This update blurs that line. Catch up quick: Microsoft and OpenAI entered into an exclusive computing partnership in 2019, and since then the Copilot maker has invested billions in the ChatGPT maker. * But the situationship has grown complicated -- and at times strained. * OpenAI's efforts to become a for-profit endeavor have created issues between the two, and the product overlap is confusing. The big picture: Mustafa Suleyman, who co-founded Google DeepMind and now leads Microsoft AI, announced Mico in a blog post Thursday. * Suleyman said the company designed the new Copilot to help humans make better decisions, not to replace human judgement. * "I often say you should judge an AI by how much it elevates human potential, not just by its own smarts," Suleyman said. * Microsoft says Mico "challenges assumptions with care" and "adapts to your vibe." The intrigue: Suleyman also co-founded Inflection, a startup claiming to launch the first "emotionally intelligent chatbot," called Pi. * Pi launched around the same time as ChatGPT, but withered on the vine when Microsoft acquired most of Inflection's workforce, including Suleyman, in March 2024. * In a personal blog post in August, Suleyman outlined what he meant by a personable chatbot. "We must build AI for people; not to be a digital person," he wrote. Zoom in: Microsoft is also betting that people want AI to be a social experience, although so far that has not proven to be true. * The Groups tool lets users brainstorm, co-write and work together with up to 32 people ... and Mico. Between the lines: Microsoft won the workplace early in terms of productivity software, but the company also has a long history of releasing human-centered tools that missed the mark. * Microsoft Bob was a mid-1990s attempt at a more friendly user interface for Windows, one so roundly mocked and criticized that it was discontinued after a year. * Clippy, the late 90's assistant in Microsoft Office, nagged workers from the corner of their desktop. It was hated, but sometimes heaps of scorn can mean a kind of affection. Using the Clippy icon as your profile picture has become a silent protest to resist the use of AI that violates copyright. * The "Me" in Windows Me stood for Millennium Edition, but Microsoft also cheekily meant the "Me" to stand for its primary target -- home users. Released to the public in 2000, the OS was rife with bugs and was widely considered a failure. * Microsoft was one of the first to friendly chatbots with the 2016 release of Tay, which quickly became a lesson in the need for serious AI safety training, especially when releasing a bot onto social media.

Microsoft's 'AI Clippy' Gives Me the Creeps

Here's a hot take for you: I always kind of liked Clippy. Maybe it's because I was an only child, but as useless as the animated paperclip (officially known as "Clippit," by the way) was for advice, I did enjoy having a buddy on my desktop while I worked on essays. Now, Microsoft is bringing that same energy back, but for AI. And, finally, I think I understand the Clippy hate. Called Mico, the character is part of Copilot's fall release, which includes a dozen new updates. Some of these are what you'd expect by now: There's a new memory feature that ensures every new conversation doesn't start from scratch, and better integration with outside apps like Gmail or Google Calendar. But there's also a few more out-there ideas, like using Copilot Mode in Edge (which originally released in July) to pick up old browsing sessions right where you left off, even if you already closed all your tabs. By far, though, the most unexpected update is for Microsoft to lean back into its old animated mascot tendencies. Mico isn't the first AI companion, nor is it the most expressive. Grok will sell you on a whole anime girlfriend, if you're into that. But it does call back to a pedigree I once thought long buried (and now, I realize, maybe for good reason). Like Clippy, and unlike Grok, Mico leans more towards the cute side of things, and is just a small, smiling, disembodied blob. It's entirely optional, but the idea is that it works with Copilot's voice input to make you feel like you're being listened to, changing color and reacting based on the tone of the conversation. If that all sounds a bit vague, it's because, well, Mico (and the rest of the Copilot fall release) is still rolling out. I don't have access to it yet, so the best I can do is check out this video shared by Microsoft. The idea, though, is clearly to make AI seem friendlier. Microsoft announced Mico in a post titled "Human-centered AI," and made a point out of debuting the character alongside a new "real talk" mode, which the company says "challenges assumptions with care, adapts to your vibe, and helps conversations spark growth and connection." And I think that's where I finally start to raise my eyebrows a bit. On the plus side, in Microsoft's video, Mico doesn't appear to actually talk, so much as play simple animations. It's not going to build a parasocial relationship with you to the degree that Elon Musk's animated AI girlfriend, which comes with a romance bar to level up, does. On the other hand, though, it still feels like a way to lower my guard. Describing Mico to The Verge, corporate VP of product and growth at Microsoft AI Jacob Andreou said "All the technology fades into the background, and you just start talking to this cute orb and build this connection with it." But what does it mean to be "connected" to a face that is inherently tied to a product? Essentially, with Mico, you're now looking at a big smiley face whenever you interact with Microsoft's AI, even as it continues to try to look at your screen, or redirect your web traffic, or bloat your computer with features that, according to testing done by TechRadar, can hurt performance. Maybe, actually, I should have my guard up when interacting with AI and not letting the technology fade out of my mind. For instance, Mico's release comes a week after Microsoft announced an initiative to "Make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC." It's no wonder the company wants to give it a friendly face while it advertises features that take action for you based on simple voice commands. But am I comfortable with a future where I just tell my computer what I want, with little direct involvement, and expect the company that runs the cloud powering it to know what that means? To a degree, I can see the convenience in that. But it also leaves me at the whims of Microsoft, and it's hard not to see Mico's friendly smile as a way to spin that as a good thing, rather than as a loss in control. At least Clippy could look sarcastic. Maybe I'm overreacting, but in the same blog where Microsoft introduced Mico, it also debuted "Copilot for health" and "Learn Live." In the former, the company actively encourages you to take your health questions to its AI, while the latter supposedly lets Copilot act as a "voice-enabled Socratic tutor." Microsoft promises that Copilot for health, at least, pulls from credible sources like Harvard Health, but as AI continues to face security risks and accusations of model collapse, I remain skeptical about letting it aid in self-diagnosing or tutoring my kid. And perhaps that's on me. When I finally get Copilot's fall release, it could prove itself. But Mico is the exact type of mascot that's meant to dismantle skepticism while it's still healthy. It benefits Microsoft, but "corporate-centered AI" and "human-centered AI" aren't the same thing. At best, I think Mico will seem obnoxious, in the same way enforced positivity usually does. But at worst, it comes across as a first attempt to make your computer seem like a friend you make requests of, rather than a machine you own. While users fight for right-to-repair and warn about dropping tech literacy among people who spend all their time with computers, it's hard not to see the idea of Copilot as a friend rather than something a bit more sinister. The Clippy connections aren't just in my head, for what it's worth. Andreou also told The Verge that "Clippy walked so that we [Mico] could run." But as we approach Halloween, I'd like to remind Microsoft that sometimes, dead is better.

Microsoft debuts Mico, Copilot's AI alternative to Clippy

Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time. Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE'koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant's Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality. Copilot's cute new emoji-like exterior comes as AI developers face a crossroads in how they present their increasingly capable chatbots to consumers without causing harm or backlash. Some have opted for faceless symbols, others like Elon Musk's xAI are selling flirtatious, human-like avatars, and Microsoft is looking for a middle ground that's friendly without being obsequious. "When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico's face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you," said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel."

Microsoft reveals bouncy new AI companion for Windows 11 - Mico - and almost everyone groans

TL;DR: Microsoft has revealed Mico, a humanlike, animated assistant for Windows 11 which is part of Copilot's voice mode (though it can be turned off). Mico is designed to be a friendly face for those who might be more intimidated by using a computer, but isn't likely to be well-received by more hardened Windows 11 users, of course. It's going to major in interactive help, and is all part of Microsoft's drive to make voice commands a bigger part of its desktop OS. Clippy is back! Well, no, the much-maligned assistant isn't, but a new Windows 11 take on a long line of desktop-based helpers has been revealed by Microsoft: it's called Mico. Mico is part of Copilot in Windows 11 - the name is a contraction of Microsoft Copilot, as in Mi-Co - and the idea is to have a more humanlike assistant in said long line of helpers (from Rover the Dog of Microsoft Bob fame, through to Clippy, then Cortana in more modern times). It is, if you like, a face for Copilot. As Microsoft explains: "The new Mico character is expressive, customizable, and warm. This optional visual presence listens, reacts, and even changes colors to reflect your interactions, making voice conversations feel more natural. Mico shows support through animation and expressions, creating a friendly and engaging experience." As noted, it's quite animated, and as you can see in the demo clip Microsoft shared on YouTube, it does a fair bit of color changing to reflect your mood. Oddly, that short video has no sound, which leaves it all feeling more than a bit eerie. Hardened Windows 11 users are going to immediately balk and generally despair at the idea of the presence of a friendly blob-like thing on their desktop, of course, but Microsoft isn't aiming this at more techie types like you and me. It's more the average consumer, or moreover, those who are perhaps a bit scared of computers - or the idea of AI - where a friendly animation might help to soothe their nerves to some extent. Mico is enabled automatically in Copilot's voice command mode, The Verge reports, but you can turn off the animated blob, of course. Initially, this will be for the US only before a wider rollout to other countries. It's all part of Microsoft's major push with AI and voice, and this will be a key element in terms of getting people to talk to their PC, towards the end of replacing traditional mouse and keyboard controls with voice commands. Or at least that's Microsoft's grand vision, anyway. Other noteworthy points include Mico remembering things about you (based on Copilot's memory feature), and what you've been doing on your PC, all of which should make for a more natural and human interaction with the assistant (with a price to pay in terms of privacy). A 'learn live' mode will offer guided help from Mico, too, complete with the likes of interactive whiteboards, The Verge reports tell us. Again, this kind of in-depth AI-based help is what we're also getting in Windows 11 with Copilot Vision, which can, for example, give you instructions on how to use an app you're attempting to get to grips with (analyzing the contents of your desktop to do so). The more Microsoft pushes Windows 11 and AI in these kinds of ways, though, the more privacy conscious are likely to push back.

Microsoft hopes Mico succeeds where Clippy failed as tech companies warily imbue AI with personality

Microsoft has introduced Mico, a new animated AI companion for Copilot, designed as a friendly, expressive blob-like face. Unlike Clippy, Mico can be turned off and adapts emotionally to users. Microsoft aims for balance -- human-like but not manipulative -- emphasising usefulness, trust, and safe engagement over addictive interaction. Clippy, the animated paper clip that annoyed Microsoft Office users nearly three decades ago, might have just been ahead of its time. Microsoft introduced a new artificial intelligence character called Mico (pronounced MEE'koh) on Thursday, a floating cartoon face shaped like a blob or flame that will embody the software giant's Copilot virtual assistant and marks the latest attempt by tech companies to imbue their AI chatbots with more of a personality. Copilot's cute new emoji-like exterior comes as AI developers face a crossroads in how they present their increasingly capable chatbots to consumers without causing harm or backlash. Some have opted for faceless symbols, others like Elon Musk's xAI are selling flirtatious, human-like avatars and Microsoft is looking for a middle ground that's friendly without being obsequious. "When you talk about something sad, you can see Mico's face change. You can see it dance around and move as it gets excited with you," said Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth for Microsoft AI, in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's in this effort of really landing this AI companion that you can really feel." In the US only so far, Copilot users on laptops and phone apps can speak to Mico, which changes colors, spins around and wears glasses when in "study" mode. It's also easy to shut off, which is a big difference from Microsoft's Clippit, better known as Clippy and infamous for its persistence in offering advice on word processing tools when it first appeared on desktop screens in 1997. "It was not well-attuned to user needs at the time," said Bryan Reimer, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Microsoft pushed it, we resisted it and they got rid of it. I think we're much more ready for things like that today." Reimer, co-author of a new book called "How to Make AI Useful," said AI developers are balancing how much personality to give AI assistants based on who their expected users are. Tech-savvy adopters of advanced AI coding tools may want it to "act much more like a machine because at the back end they know it's a machine," Reimer said. "But individuals who are not as trustful in a machine are going to be best supported - not replaced - by technology that feels a little more like a human." Microsoft, a provider of work productivity tools that is far less reliant on digital advertising revenue than its Big Tech competitors, also has less incentive to make its AI companion overly engaging in a way that's been tied to social isolation, harmful misinformation and, in some cases, suicides. Andreou said Microsoft has watched as some AI developers veered away from "giving AI any sort of embodiment," while others are moving in the opposite direction in enabling AI girlfriends. "Those two paths don't really resonate with us that much," he said. Andreou said the companion's design is meant to be "genuinely useful" and not so validating that it would "tell us exactly what we want to hear, confirm biases we already have, or even suck you in from a time-spent perspective and just kind of try to kind of monopolize and deepen the session and increase the time you're spending with these systems." "Being sycophantic - short-term, maybe - has a user respond more favorably," Andreou said. "But long term, it's actually not moving that person closer to their goals." Part of Microsoft's announcements on Thursday includes the ability to invite Copilot into a group chat, an idea that resembles how AI has been integrated into social media platforms like Snapchat, where Andreou used to work, or Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram. But Andreou said those interactions have often involved bringing in AI as a joke to "troll your friends," which is different from the "intensely collaborative" AI-assisted workplace Microsoft has in mind. Microsoft's audience includes kids, as part of its longtime competition with Google and other tech companies to supply its technology to classrooms. Microsoft also said Thursday it's added a feature to turn Copilot into a "voice-enabled, Socratic tutor" that guides students through concepts they're studying at school. A growing number of kids use AI chatbots for everything - from homework help to personal advice, emotional support and everyday decision-making. The Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry last month into several social media and AI companies - Microsoft wasn't one of them - about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions. That's after some chatbots have been shown to give kids dangerous advice about topics such as drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. The mother of a teenage boy in Florida who killed himself after developing what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with a chatbot filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Character. AI. And the parents of a 16-year-old sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in August, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life. Altman recently promised "a new version of ChatGPT" coming this fall that restores some of the personality of earlier versions, which he said the company temporarily halted because "we were being careful with mental health issues" that he suggested have now been fixed. "If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it," Altman said on X. (In the same post, he also said OpenAI will later enable ChatGPT to engage in "erotica for verified adults," which got more attention.)