Microsoft Enhances Copilot with Advanced Collaboration and AI Features

Microsoft announced a series of new features for its digital assistant, Copilot, on Thursday, aiming to enhance user experience through expanded collaboration and tighter integration with applications such as Outlook and Google services. This move is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to stay competitive amid rapid advancements by AI leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI.

With user consent, Copilot can now access and analyze tabs within Microsoft’s Edge browser to provide summaries, compare information, and perform practical tasks like hotel bookings. Additionally, the assistant can convert previous searches into "storylines," enabling users to revisit past inquiries and ideas.

A notable addition is the introduction of an avatar named "Mico," designed to display facial expressions and change colors to foster a more natural conversational interaction.

Enhancements to collaboration include the integration of Groups, which transforms Copilot into a shared workspace capable of supporting up to 32 participants, allowing users to co-write and collaborate on projects in real time. The AI assistant also features long-term memory to help users track notes and lists, with personalization enabling it to remember and recall essential user information during future sessions.

Ella Steckler, AI product manager at Microsoft, emphasized the importance of these capabilities, stating, "It’s absolutely essential for a companion to have memory. With Copilot’s long-term memory, it naturally picks up on important details and remembers them long after you’ve had the conversation."

To address rising concerns about AI-generated misinformation, Microsoft has improved Copilot’s responses to health-related queries by ensuring answers are grounded in credible sources.

Currently, these updates are available to users in the United States, with plans to extend the rollout to the United Kingdom, Canada, and other regions in the coming weeks.