The Windows 11 system is Microsoft’s next big target for its ChatGPT-based Bing integration. In a recent blog post, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay shared how the new Bing will benefit Windows 11 users in answering queries and performing different commands or tasks.
Bing is officially replacing Cortana as your modern visual assistant on the Windows system, and it is not a surprise anymore. In the past months, Microsoft has integrated the assistive feature of AI into its different products by wrapping it under the name “Copilot.” It was first spotted in GitHub Copilot, which can recognize natural language prompts to produce coding suggestions. It was followed by other Copilot integrations into other Microsoft apps and platforms. Now, it is coming to Windows and will be called Windows Copilot.
According to Panay, Windows Copilot will accept various commands from users, from changing the PC’s settings to creating compositions and summarizing texts. This should be an exciting feature for Windows 11, given ChatGPT’s proficiency in understanding natural language for commands. Nonetheless, what makes it more exciting is that it will also be able to answer complicated queries, much like what Bing Chat is already doing.
“Just like you would with Bing Chat, you can ask Windows Copilot a range of questions from simple to complex,” Panay shared in the blog post. “If I want to call my family in Cyprus, I can quickly check the local time to make sure I’m not waking them up in the middle of the night. If I want to plan a trip to visit them in Cyprus, I can ask Windows Copilot to find my family flights and accommodations for mid-winter break.”
In the past, the company tested the new Bing in Windows 10 and 11 systems’ search bars in the taskbar (and even placed it on the desktop). However, that only allowed indirect access to Bing Chat by making the icon a launcher of the Bing search engine. Now, the direct placement of the Windows Copilot in the taskbar next month should make things more convenient for users. It should also benefit Microsoft, which is still pushing Windows 11 down the throat of old system users. And by making the power of Bing more visible and accessible to Windows users, the company should be able to convince more customers to consider Bing, which remains weak in the search engine market.
