- By Prateek Levi
- Mon, 07 Apr 2025 06:23 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Microsoft rolled out a major update to Copilot, its AI-powered assistant—and it’s clearly stepping up to compete with the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini. The new additions bring Copilot closer to feeling like a personal digital companion, capable of handling tasks, remembering preferences, and even chatting with a bit of personality. Here's a breakdown of all the features just announced.
Copilot Actions: AI That Gets Things Done for You
Microsoft is giving Copilot a new trick: Actions. This feature lets the assistant “take action on your behalf”—meaning it can now help with real-world tasks like booking event tickets, making dinner reservations, or even sending gifts.
According to Microsoft, Copilot Actions will work with most websites, and a few notable launch partners include Booking.com, Kayak, Expedia, OpenTable, Tripadvisor, Skyscanner, Viator, and Vrbo.
Copilot Vision: Use Your Camera Like a Smart Lens
Another exciting update is Copilot Vision, a feature that taps into your phone’s camera to better understand your environment. You can also feed it videos or photos from your gallery and ask questions about them.
Say you point your camera at a tree—you’ll be able to ask for tips on keeping it healthy. “Copilot Vision can analyse your surroundings,” says Microsoft. It’s now available in the Copilot app on both Android and iOS.
Native Windows Integration: Smarter Across Apps
Copilot is also getting more deeply embedded in Windows. Now, it works across multiple applications, tabs, and files. So whether you’re changing settings, organising folders, or collaborating on a document, Copilot can help—all without leaving your current window.
You can access this feature with the Alt + Space shortcut, and if you want to go hands-free, just hold the same keys for two seconds to activate voice commands.
Memory and Personalisation: Smarter with Every Chat
One of the more personal updates is Memory—Microsoft’s answer to AI that remembers who you are. Like ChatGPT and Gemini, Copilot will now recall important preferences such as your favourite foods, movie genres, and more.
“The more you interact with Copilot, the more it will offer personalised solutions, suggestions and can even give timely reminders.” Of course, Microsoft also says you’ll have control over what the AI stores and remembers.
And on a lighter note—you can now tweak Copilot’s appearance. Want to bring back Clippy? Go for it. “Users will be able to give the AI chatbot a personalised appearance,” the company said.
Pages: From Brainstorming to Final Draft
Pages is another new addition aimed at helping you stay organised. Think of it as a creative space where Copilot pulls together your notes, content, and research into a single canvas. Microsoft describes it as a way to “organise your thoughts and content from chaos to calm.” From a rough outline to a polished final draft—Pages has you covered.
Podcasts: Turn Research into Personalised Audio
Taking a cue from Google’s NotebookLM, Copilot can now turn your written research into a podcast. This feature creates AI-generated audio content tailored to your interests.
Want to compare vacation options or study a topic from a specific site? Now you can listen to that information instead of reading it. “Copilot can now turn your research papers into a podcast,” says Microsoft.
Smarter Shopping: From Research to Checkout
The shopping assistant game just got more competitive. With Copilot’s updated shopping tools, you can now ask it to research products, compare specs, and even get personalised buying advice.
It also keeps an eye out for price drops—and yes, it can complete purchases directly from the app too.
Deep Research: Your AI Research Assistant
Coming soon to all users is Deep Research, which gives Copilot the ability to search the web, dig through documents or images, and generate comprehensive reports. It’s Microsoft’s answer to the in-depth research tools we’ve seen from OpenAI.
Copilot Search in Bing
Lastly, Bing search is getting an AI-powered boost. Similar to Google’s experimental AI Overviews, Microsoft is adding Copilot search to Bing, which means Copilot will browse the web on your behalf and deliver summarised answers—complete with citations. While it’s not available to everyone just yet, it’s gradually rolling out.
All in all, these updates show that Microsoft’s not just keeping pace in the AI race—they’re aiming to redefine what a smart assistant can do. Whether you need help with tasks, research, or even just want a podcast based on your notes, Copilot is now ready to handle a whole lot more.