Developer(s) | Microsoft | ||||||
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Initial release | February 7, 2023 | ||||||
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Predecessor | Cortana | ||||||
Type | Chatbot | ||||||
License | Proprietary | ||||||
Website | copilot |
Microsoft Copilot is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Microsoft. Based on the GPT-4 series of large language models, it was launched in 2023 as Microsoft's primary replacement for the discontinued Cortana.
The service was introduced in February 2023 under the name Bing Chat, as a built-in feature for Microsoft Bing and Microsoft Edge. Over the course of 2023, Microsoft began to unify the Copilot branding across its various chatbot products, cementing the "copilot" analogy. At its Build 2023 conference, Microsoft announced its plans to integrate Copilot into Windows 11, allowing users to access it directly through the taskbar. In January 2024, a dedicated Copilot key was announced for Windows keyboards.
Copilot utilizes the Microsoft Prometheus model, built upon OpenAI's GPT-4 foundational large language model, which in turn has been fine-tuned using both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques. Copilot's conversational interface style resembles that of ChatGPT. The chatbot is able to cite sources, create poems, generate songs, and use numerous languages and dialects.
Microsoft operates Copilot on a freemium model. Users on its free tier can access most features, while priority access to newer features, including custom chatbot creation, is provided to paid subscribers under the "Microsoft Copilot Pro" paid subscription service. Several default chatbots are available in the free version of Microsoft Copilot, including the standard Copilot chatbot as well as Microsoft Designer, which is oriented towards using its Image Creator to generate images based on text prompts.