Microsoft Copilot Could Soon Be Set As Default Assistant App on Android

Microsoft Copilot app on Android can now reportedly be set as the default digital assistant for the smartphone. The feature is currently in beta testing and offers users the option to summon the chatbot from any screen. The generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based Copilot platform has been getting some big upgrades lately. Earlier, it received a design overhaul for a streamlined appearance and an inline image editor was added so users could change aspects of a generated image without leaving the chatbox.

The information comes from tipster Mishaal Rahman, who revealed in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, “With version 27.9.420225014, available in beta, you can change the default assistant app to Copilot. This lets you launch Copilot from any screen by swiping diagonally from the corner or long-pressing the power button.” The post also carried a video that showed the addition of Copilot to the list of digital assistants.

However, as per the tipster, it is not a full-fledged smartphone assistant. Invoking the assistant opens the Copilot app on any screen, instead of triggering the auto-listening mode where users can speak their query. The chatbot also cannot take screenshots of the current screen, or analyse its content, as per the leaked information. While not mentioned in the post, it appears that Copilot can still perform all its duties as a generative AI chatbot and will be able to answer user queries and search for things on the internet. It is unclear whether it can perform on-device tasks such as opening an app, setting alarms and reminders, and starting a timer. The tipster added that Microsoft is likely to add these functionalities soon.

Apart from this, a big development for Copilot was announced by Jordi Ribas, CVP at Microsoft – Search & AI on Monday. In a post on X, he revealed that Microsoft was rolling out Copilot GPTs within the AI app. “They can help create designs, plan your next vacation, learn to cook a new recipe or create a custom workout plan,” Ribas added.

These are believed to function similarly to OpenAI’s GPTs, which were just mini-chatbots that are programmed for specific tasks and are trained on targeted and limited amounts of data. Right now, three of them have been added — a Vacation planner, a Cooking assistant, and a Fitness trainer. OpenAI also allows users to self-program these mini-chatbots for a customised task, which is not currently possible on Copilot. Ribas said that the feature was being tested in a controlled environment with a subset of users.