Copilot, Microsoft’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, has begun shipping in AI PCs across India. Dell and HP have already launched new laptops under the Copilot+ PC branding, and Microsoft Surface devices will go on sale starting August 5. In the last few months, the tech giant has spent a significant amount of time talking about new features such as Cocreate, Live Captions, and Windows Studio Effects. But there is one problem. Despite touting the AI-powered Windows operating system, the end consumer remains apprehensive about how these features can improve their daily activities.
There are other concerns as well. The AI chatbot space is brimming with competition. Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude are just a few names among many. While Copilot has the advantage of becoming the default option in AI PCs, it still has to offer something that adds a distinct value to users’ lives to stand out from the competition.
To understand these complexities and the unique selling point (USP) of Microsoft’s Copilot AI, Gadgets 360 spoke with Shruti Bhatia, Country Head, Modern Work & Surface, India & South Asia, Microsoft. During the conversation, we spoke about the different ways the end user can benefit from integrated AI solutions and how they can make the most out of their experience. Also, we touched upon the most burning question of them all.
Why Should One Use Copilot Over ChatGPT?
Currently, the free version of Copilot is powered by GPT-4, and the paid Copilot Pro is powered by GPT-4 Turbo. In contrast, OpenAI’s in-house AI chatbot ChatGPT offers access to its latest flagship model, GPT-4 Omni (or GPT-4o). So, when users can get a faster and more powerful AI tool in the latter, why would they opt for Copilot? “The biggest advantage when you use Copilot is that it is embedded into your applications. The work that I get done throughout the day is in my mail, chat, PowerPoint, and Word document. That is only possible with Copilot,” explained Bhatia.
Shruti Bhatia, Country Head, Modern Work & Surface, India & South Asia, Microsoft
Photo Credit: Microsoft
In simple terms, Copilot is not just a standalone chatbot. The tech giant has embedded AI capabilities within its Microsoft 365 apps, Teams, and Paint, while certain features are accessible all across the OS.
“Without leaving my application, I can get my work done. It saves me time and ensures it understands the context of my query. This capability is only available when you work with Copilot. It is not about searching for something on the web. It is about having that in your application and knowing the context of how you’re operating with the backdrop of all the information on your device,” added Bhatia.
How Can the End User Make the Most Out of Copilot-Powered AI PCs
Another issue that can be a hurdle in the adoption of AI PCs is the lack of awareness among users on the capabilities of generative AI. While most know that an AI chatbot can have conversations, answer queries, and even generate images, they don’t know how to integrate it into their daily tasks to get more out of the technology.
“The power of AI impacts all walks of your life. It could be across your personal or work engagements. It could be as simple as planning a vacation or asking the AI if I have forgotten any of my tasks before closing for the day. It can analyse, summarise, and create documents; it can create replies to emails with the right tonality, and more,” said Bhatia, answering the question.
To break it down, Copilot is available on Word, where it can analyse and summarise the document. It can also create documents with simple text prompts. The AI can also generate a full-scale presentation via PowerPoint and write email replies. What Microsoft is offering is an assistant in all of its apps to minimise the labour-intensive work, so users can focus on tasks that need their attention.
“Whether you are discovering, aggregating, or creating, Copilot can help with all three and impact both your work and play. Copilot has the capability of truly becoming your buddy and companion to boost your day-to-day productivity,” Bhatia added.
The Art of Prompts
Getting the AI to do your work is a lucrative proposition. However, many times, it simply refuses to generate what you need. Many times, the AI might get one-half of the prompt right while completely ignoring the other half. Or, it might fetch the right information but present it in the wrong format. Put simply, it can be frustrating to create the perfect text prompt that the AI can understand to generate the right response.
“Never worry about getting the prompt right because you can always ask it a follow-up question. However, being very clear, categorical, and specific in your prompts will give you the output faster,” Bhatia explained.
