Microsoft Copilot now has a face!

Microsoft is giving a face to Copilot, its generative AI-powered chatbot. Seen as a part of the tech giant’s new Copilot Appearance experiment, the tech giant says the new feature gives users “a new, visual way to chat with Copilot.” Available as an early preview in Copilot Labs, the new feature brings real-time facial expressions, adds non-verbal cues and gives Copilot’s voice mode a conversational memory.

This new experiment is part of Microsoft’s wider vision for evolving Copilot from a simple assistant to an AI companion. Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, described this feature as giving Copilot its own “digital patina” that can age over time along with its user.

The primary goal is to make the interaction with AI more human-like than mechanical, which will help users connect with AI more intuitively.

Users who are interested can enable Copilot Appearance from the voice settings of the Copilot interface. It is currently limited to selected users in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. The toggle as such may not appear in the settings if the user is not part of the test group.

This update complements other recent enhancements to the Microsoft Copilot to continue to expand the functionality beyond just a text-based interface. Recently, Microsoft introduced Copilot Vision, which lets users analyse photos and even real-time video feeds on their phone.