Microsoft has quietly launched a standalone Copilot app featuring its AI-powered assistant for Android devices. The free app provides users with AI capabilities similar to ChatGPT to help with a variety of tasks. Shortly after the Android release, Microsoft also launched the Copilot app for iOS devices.
Copilot App Now Available on Android Play Store
The new Microsoft Copilot app popped up on the Google Play Store on December 26th, allowing Android users to access the AI assistant on their mobile devices.
The Copilot assistant feature first previewed back in 2021 as an AI pair programmer within Visual Studio Code. It was designed to help developers write better code by making suggestions as they typed.
Microsoft then integrated Copilot into its Edge browser on desktop and mobile to enhance the browsing experience. Users could ask Copilot questions and get summarized answers without having to leave the browser tab they were currently viewing.
However, the launch of the standalone Android app now gives users full access to Copilot’s conversational AI abilities:
- Get suggestions as you type questions or tasks
- Ask follow up questions to go deeper on a topic
- Receive rich, formatted responses including bulleted lists and tables
- Seamless experience across Android phone and tablet
The Copilot app showcases the continued advancement of Microsoft’s AI capabilities, powered by models based on OpenAI’s GPT technology.
Microsoft Brings Copilot App to iPhone and iPad
Just days after the Android release, Microsoft also launched the Copilot app for iOS devices on December 29th.
iPhone and iPad users can now download the free Copilot app from the App Store to get AI-powered assistance from their mobile devices.
The iOS version provides the same features and functionality as the Android app, giving users the full Copilot conversational experience:
- Convenient access to Copilot AI assistant
- Ask questions across a wide range of topics
- Get summarized answers pulled from the web
- View responses formatted as bulleted lists, tables, etc.
- Seamless handoff between iPhone, iPad and Mac
Microsoft has been rapidly iterating on its AI services over the past year to keep pace with chatbot hype stirred up by ChatGPT.
Releasing standalone Copilot apps for mobile solidifies Microsoft’s commitment to making AI assistance easily accessible to users across devices.
| Copilot App Features | Android | iOS |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational AI assistant | ✅ | ✅ |
| Summarized web answers | ✅ | ✅ |
| Rich formatted responses | ✅ | ✅ |
| Mobile + desktop handoff | ✅ | ✅ |
What Can You Do with the Copilot App?
The Copilot app provides users with an AI companion that can understand natural language requests and provide helpful information in response.
You can ask Copilot questions on pretty much any topic just as you would query a search engine. Copilot will scan the web and compile the most relevant facts into an easy to digest summary.
But unlike search, Copilot lets you have a back and forth conversation to dive deeper on a subject or get clarification.
Here are some examples of how you can use Copilot:
- Get a news briefing on the latest headlines
- Check sports scores and player stats
- Define unfamiliar terms or concepts
- Translate phrases into other languages
- Get math and coding assistance
- Have Copilot summarize online articles or documents
- Get recipe ingredient measurements
- Learn about historical events
The key benefit Copilot provides over search is the conversational aspect. You can ask followup questions and continue refining your inquiry until you get the details you need.
The Android and iOS apps now make these AI features accessible right from your mobile device anytime, anywhere.
Microsoft’s AI Assistant Caught Up in Controversy
The launch of the mobile Copilot apps comes at a time when generative AI chatbots are receiving intense public scrutiny.
ChatGPT took the world by storm after its November 2022 release for providing remarkably human-like responses to natural language prompts. But it wasn’t long before users uncovered harms related to biases, misinformation and toxic language generation.
Microsoft owns a significant stake in OpenAI, the research lab behind ChatGPT. And Microsoft’s own AI services like Copilot leverage GPT models under the hood.
- Reports have surfaced of Copilot demonstrating gender and race bias in responses
- Critics warn conversational AI could automate the spread of misinformation
- Harmful content generated threatens Microsoft’s brand safety
In light of recent backlash, Microsoft announced additional measures to strengthen Copilot’s safety:
- Improved bias mitigation in model training
- Proactive toxicity filtering of responses
- Tighter content controls on sensitive topics
Only time will tell if these updates are sufficient to curb harmful AI behavior as adoption spreads to mainstream mobile users.
Microsoft does seem committed to responsible AI development. But they now face an uphill battle to balance open access with ethics and accountability.
What’s Next for Mobile Copilot Apps?
The Copilot AI assistant apps have tremendous room for growth as Microsoft gathers real-world usage data.
Some likely areas of improvement include:
- Expanded domain expertise – increase Copilot’s knowledge breadth across more topics like medicine, law, etc.
- Personalization – provide user-specific recommendations and tailored responses
- Mobile optimization – enhance features for on-the-go querying via voice and camera
- Multimodal responses – generate interactive maps, 3D diagrams, videos and more
And Microsoft has already hinted at Copernicus, the next major iteration of Copilot under development. Copernicus promises more advanced reasoning and common sense intelligence.
Of course, scaling further opens the door for additional societal risks if Microsoft fails to address ethical AI concerns.
Ultimately, the tech giant seems hell-bent on infusing intelligence into all of its products and services. The new Copilot apps foreshadow a future augmented by ambient AI assistants.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
