Microsoft’s Gaming Copilot, a beta AI assistant meant to help gamers, is out now on PC and will come to the Xbox mobile app next month, the company said in a blog post on Monday. It’s uncertain if or when Gaming Copilot will launch on Xbox consoles.
A representative for Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
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Gaming Copilot is still in beta and is available to users 18 and older and in all regions except China. Players can ask Copilot questions using the AI assistant’s voice mode for recommendations, help and other insights.
PC players will now see Gaming Copilot in the Game Bar, an on-screen overlay that you can call up during a gaming session. Gaming Copilot launches next month on the Xbox app for iOS and Android.
With voice mode, you can have a back-and-forth conversation with Copilot about your gaming, asking for tips and guidance on quests or boss battles. There’s a push-to-talk feature that lets you assign a key to quickly bring up Gaming Copilot. It’ll also be possible to pin a Gaming Copilot widget on-screen, which Microsoft calls Mini Mode, to interact with the AI assistant.
It’s uncertain how Gaming Copilot knows what advice to give during gaming sessions. Could developers be giving Microsoft the requisite information on how to beat their games so that the AI model knows what to tell you? Or is Microsoft pulling from the vast corpus of game guides found online, from sites like CNET’s sister site IGN, Polygon or posts on Steam Guides?
If it’s the latter, Microsoft could eat away at major online traffic drivers for gaming sites.
With Microsoft investing heavily in AI, throwing $13 billion into ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, the company is finding ways to put the technology in everything from Windows to Notepad. AI is also helping Microsoft’s Google Search competitor, Bing.
Microsoft’s continued AI investments, along with its strong cloud support and dominance in enterprise, led Wall Street to shower the company with support. AI hype, along with other factors, helped propel Microsoft to a $3 trillion valuation last year.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Microsoft Research also showed off a new AI model, Muse, that could generate gameplay visuals, mainly for video game ideation.
How to use Gaming Copilot on PC
- Install the Xbox app on PC.
- Press Windows + G to open Game Bar.
- Click on the Copilot icon.
- Log in to your Microsoft account for full functionality.
How to use Gaming Copilot on mobile
- Install the Xbox app.
- Tap on the Copilot icon.
- Begin conversing with Copilot. It should sync with the game you’re playing on PC.
