The holidays are usually a time to relax and enjoy, but in the competitive world of Big Tech, there’s always something brewing. While we were busy with festive activities, Microsoft quietly launched a new AI assistant app called Copilot on Android and iOS, aiming to go unnoticed amidst the season’s distractions.
Copilot appears similar to Microsoft’s Bing Chat app, which was introduced last year with much excitement. You can have natural conversations with it, ask questions, draft emails, or search the web—typical AI assistant functionalities for 2024.
However, what’s impressive is that Copilot is powered by advanced AI technologies, including GPT-3.5 and the more powerful GPT-4 in some modes. This isn’t just any simple chatbot; it can understand context, manage complex conversations, and create realistic text and images using tools like DALL-E 3.
Usually, accessing GPT-4 comes with a cost—around $20 per month. But Microsoft is offering this advanced AI interaction for free, making it one of the most powerful systems available to everyone with a phone.
This is significant. With Copilot, anyone can now have access to a highly capable AI assistant, similar to trendy apps like ChatGPT. Microsoft introduced this feature quietly, possibly to let it gain traction on its own without excessive hype.
Although it might seem like Microsoft was trying to avoid publicity, the quiet launch during the holidays could have been a strategic move to release Copilot without overhyping it. The company knows exactly what it’s doing, making a major AI advancement accessible to millions.
The bigger question is how the public will respond once they realize the capabilities of Copilot. Will the holiday timing help Microsoft normalize such advanced AI, or will it eventually lead to a more significant reaction?
For now, Copilot isn’t a direct rival to ChatGPT as it doesn’t support conversational voice chat like OpenAI’s popular app. But by releasing it quietly, Microsoft has ensured its participation in the AI assistant market well into 2024 and beyond. The race in AI development just got more intriguing.