Microsoft rolled out a slew of new features for its Copilot chatbot on Tuesday, including the ability to speak to the AI directly as you would another person, and without the need for text-based input prompts.
"We’re making it easier than ever to connect with your companion using Copilot Voice," the company wrote in its announcement post. "This is the most intuitive and natural way to brainstorm on the go, ask a quick question or even just vent at the end of a tough day. Your companion will be personal to you, with four voice options to choose from."
In the preview video above, a user asks Copilot for assistance in choosing a housewarming gift for a friend who does not drink wine. Copilot is obstensibly able to suggest a number of non-alcoholic options like "fancy olive oil," state its reasons for suggesting those ideas, and explain what qualities to look for in a high-quality olive oil. However, the video doesn't really show how the feature would perform under the real world conditions of a busy supermarket and harried party-goer. The dialog is smooth to the point of feeling scripted and there's no indication that you'll be able to stutter or interrupt yourself and still have the AI follow along, as other conversational AIs can.
The ability to directly converse with your chatbot is becoming an increasingly common feature among today's frontier models. OpenAI led the way with its Advanced Voice Mode, followed shortly thereafter by Google's Gemini Live and Perplexity's voice interface. Apple's Intelligence AI will also support direct conversation through its integration with SIri when the AI rolls out in mid-October with the release of iOS 18.1. Anthropic's Claude, however, does not offer such a feature, though that's not wholly surprising given the AI's focus on coding solutions rather than general chatting.
Microsoft says Copilot Voice is initially available in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but will soon expand to more regions and languages. We're not seeing it on our devices yet.
Source: Microsoft