Microsoft is testing new features for its Copilot AI, including AI characters and shopping capabilities. These innovations aim to create a more engaging and personalized user experience.
During testing, two characters have been identified: Mika (a small fox) and Hikari (a water drop-like character that some users associate with Clippy). These characters appear on thematic backgrounds, such as forest scenes, and interact with users by waving or moving. Currently, the characters do not produce sound, but future updates may include voice capabilities.
Despite the addition of characters and backgrounds, Copilot’s core interface remains unchanged. Users can choose characters and backgrounds to personalize their experience.
Microsoft is also testing shopping features for Copilot. This functionality will help users make purchases and track deliveries. Initially, this feature may be available only to Pro users in the U.S.
Microsoft has made the Think Deeper feature available to free users, though it is limited to three messages per day. Think Deeper was previously exclusive to Pro users, offering access to Copilot’s reasoning capabilities.
There are speculations that the free version of Think Deeper is based on the o1-mini model, and the release of o3-mini by OpenAI could impact Copilot.
These developments show that Microsoft continues to innovate, making its AI technologies more engaging and user-friendly.