Microsoft’s Mico is a ‘Clippy’ for the AI era

Microsoft has a new Clippy and it’s AI friend called Myco. Company A Copilot fall release At Thursday’s press event, the company introduced several new features and updates for its AI chatbot, but one that telegraphed how the tech giant wants to bring AI to consumers was the official introduction of its AI chatbot’s “face” — an expressive avatar blob named Mico.

Company explains That Mico (its name is a nod to “Microsoft Copilot”) is meant to offer consumers a “warm” and “customizable” visual presence that “listens, reacts and even changes color to reflect your interactions.”

If talking AI helper immediately brings to mind Clippy, Microsoft’s infamous productivity assistant, you wouldn’t be wrong. It seems that Microsoft has decided to accept the reference to its old companion, because there is one easter eggs Whereas, if you tap the miko multiple times, it will transform into a clip.

The feature is enabled by default when you’re using Copilot’s voice mode, but users can turn it off if they prefer. It’s initially available in the US, Canada and the UK, and will be able to store memories of your conversations and learn from your responses, Microsoft says.

A “Learn Live” mode for US users can make Copilot a tutor that guides you through concepts rather than just providing an answer. The company notes that it has also made other improvements in areas such as health-related questions and deep research.

“As we build it, we’re not chasing engagement or optimizing for screen time. We’re building AI that brings you back into your life. It deepens human connection. It earns your trust,” wrote Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman in an announcement.

Microsoft isn’t the only chatbot maker to anthropomorphize its AI. Market leader ChatGPT, for example, also offers a visual experience, with a number of different ones Voice options. Meanwhile, xAI’s Grok has turned to its AI AI companions at risk. Across the App Store, there are AI companion apps Already drawn millionsIndicates that there is some consumer demand for AI characters.

However, it remains to be seen whether consumers will respond to Mico’s floating blob.

The company said it is also working to evolve the personality and tone of the copilot with the introduction of a new mode called “Real Talk”. This would allow the AI ​​to mirror the user’s conversational style, but would not Like other AI assistants have been sycophantic. Instead, Microsoft says it will feel like something that’s “grounded in its own perspective” and will push back and challenge your ideas, which can encourage you to see things from a different perspective.

Finding a balance between a helpful, conversational AI and leading users down the rabbit hole has proven difficult. quite a few event of AI Chatbot Psychosis reported, where AI users come to reinforce their delusional beliefs through their interactions with chatbots.

The fall Copilot update introduced several 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 an AI update for its browser, Microsoft Edge.

The company said it is working to develop Edge into an AI browser that will be able to view your tabs, compare descriptions and information, and take action for you on things like booking hotels or filling out forms. This will 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 its Gemini AI integrated.