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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.
