The focus was on artificial intelligence at Microsoft Build 2023, where the software giant showcased AI enhancements across Windows 11, Microsoft 365, Edge and more. The company also said Bing is now the default search engine for OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. A Copilot AI button is being integrated into the Windows 11 taskbar, making it the first personal computer operating system to integrate AI assistance to help users seamlessly connect across apps and improve productivity. “For example, you cannot only copy and paste, but also ask Windows Copilot to rewrite, summarize or explain your content,” Microsoft points out.

Like Bing’s AI chat, the new embedded Windows Copilot tool can be leveraged as “a super-powered search engine by typing in general questions,” writes Engadget. “You can ask it to accomplish tasks within the OS — like turning on the night light mode, or changing your desktop background — without fishing around for specific settings.”

In addition, Copilot can “function as a genuine virtual assistant by summarizing documents or launching a photo app to accomplish a few edits before sending it off to a group of your coworkers,” explains Engadget.

“This is the same assistant that Microsoft already integrates across Edge, its Office apps, and GitHub,” The Verge reports, explaining that clicking the Copilot icon “opens up the Copilot sidebar,” where you can ask it to execute various tasks or change settings relative to any of the apps you’re using.

Microsoft will begin publicly testing the Windows 11 Copilot next month before rolling it out more broadly, says The Verge, noting that additional Windows 11 updates include: “support for Bluetooth LE, the low-energy audio specification that lets you listen to high-quality audio without draining your device’s battery life,” as well as “support for 10 new languages and dialects in live captions” and a “feature that transcribes audio in real time, as well as native RGB controls in Windows 11.”

Microsoft 365 Copilot will now integrate with Edge. “The tool, which will live within the browser’s sidebar, can use the content on the site you’re viewing to help you work on projects in Microsoft 365 apps, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and others,” writes The Verge. The integration will also support plug-ins coming to 365 Copilot.

The AI assistant now supports three primary plug-in types: message extensions from Teams, Power Platform connectors, and ChatGPT-compatible tools. Microsoft is also supporting dozens of third-party plug-ins, including from Atlassian and Adobe.

“Additionally, Microsoft says that it will build all its Copilot and Bing Chat plug-ins with the same standard that OpenAI uses for ChatGPT,” which means “you’ll be able to use the same plug-ins across all three AI-powered tools, and developers will also have an easier time creating them.”

As for news that Bing is the official search engine of ChatGPT, Bing Chat powered by OpenAI has been going gangbusters since its release in February. Starting this week, ChatGPT Plus users will begin seeing Bing citations appended to the chatbot’s responses.

Related:
Bringing the Power of AI to Windows 11: Unlocking a New Era of Productivity, Microsoft, 5/23/23
Microsoft Build Brings AI Tools to the Forefront for Developers, Microsoft, 5/23/23
Watch the Microsoft Build 2023 Keynote in Under 10 Minutes, Engadget, 5/23/23
Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio Lets Developers Build Their Own AI ‘Copilots’, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Microsoft to Add Bing Search to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in Battle with Google, Bloomberg, 5/23/23
AI Is Headed to the Microsoft Store on Windows, Engadget, 5/23/23
Google to Experiment with Ads That Appear in Its AI Chatbot in Search, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Google Search Ads Will Soon Automatically Adapt to Queries Using Generative AI, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Microsoft Launches New AI Tool to Moderate Text and Images, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Microsoft Launches Fabric, a New End-to-End Data and Analytics Platform, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Microsoft Launches an AI Tool to Take the Pain Out of Building Websites, TechCrunch, 5/23/23
Microsoft’s AI Reaches Indian Villages, TechCrunch, 5/24/23