Microsoft recently quietly deployed a dedicated application of its artificial intelligence tool, Copilot, on the Android platform. This new application, now available on the Google Play Store, aims to provide direct Copilot access and eliminate the need to use the Bing mobile application. It shares similarities with ChatGPT and offers a range of features such as chatbot functionality, image generation via DALL-E 3 and supported text editing for emails and documents. It should be noted that the application also allows free use of OpenAI's latest GPT-4 model, a feature that remains paid on ChatGPT.
OpenAI has announced that its latest caption generator, DALL-E 3, is now available in ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise. Paying ChatGPT customers can now access the DALL-E 3 image generator in the ChatGPT app. OpenAI has prepared a security mitigation stack for the model to prepare it for expanded release.
Microsoft recently changed the name of Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise to Microsoft Copilot. Copilot is a concept that is increasingly being used by Microsoft to introduce AI into all aspects of the Windows range and other business areas. Copilot for Microsoft 365 leverages a company's data that already exists in the Microsoft Graph, while Copilot Studio extends the technology to other business areas such as CRM and ERP.
According to Microsoft, the initiative is about simplifying the user experience and making Copilot more accessible to everyone. Starting today, Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise will become Copilot, with business privacy protection applied when an authorized user signs in with the Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft said. Every time an employee logs into Copilot with their professional account, they benefit from corporate data protection.
DALL-E 3 added Bing Chat and Bing Image Generator, making Microsoft's platform the first to offer broader public access to the model, even before ChatGPT. Text-to-image generators such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and older versions of DALL-E have all attracted their share of controversy. OpenAI promises to have taken much bigger steps this time, providing a website showcasing the research conducted in DALL-E 3.
ChatGPT can now create unique images from a simple conversation. This new feature is now available for Plus and Enterprise users. Describe your vision and ChatGPT will bring it to life by providing you with a selection of images that you can refine and modify. You can request revisions directly in chat. This feature is provided by our most efficient image model DALL-E, which OpenAI announced on its official website.
Technological revolution or clever marketing strategy?
In September, Microsoft announced that it was entering a new era of AI that is fundamentally changing the way we interact with and benefit from technology. Thanks to the convergence of chat interfaces and large language models, it is now possible to ask what you want in natural language and the technology is smart enough to respond, create, or take action.
The basic idea at Microsoft is that the integration of co-pilots equipped with artificial intelligence is comparable to a reliable companion who supports us in all operations. This vision has been realized by integrating AI Co-Pilots into popular products, ostensibly to make coding more efficient with GitHub, revolutionize workplace productivity with Microsoft 365, and redefine the search experience with Bing and Edge and add contextual value to work seamlessly across all your applications and on your Windows PC.
Behind this optimistic perspective, however, the crucial question arises as to the actual added value of these AI co-pilots. Is this really a revolution in coding efficiency or simply a marketing strategy aimed at portraying these products as indispensable tools? The claim to “transform” workplace productivity raises questions about the extent to which these technologies actually improve work performance. Likewise, the redefinition of search with Bing and Edge casts doubt on its ability to truly innovate in an already established space.
Additionally, the idea of providing universal contextual value across all apps and on PCs running Windows raises privacy and security concerns. So the fundamental question remains: are these Microsoft AI co-pilots truly reliable partners in our digital journey, or are they just a tempting but potentially superficial technological addition? The criticism therefore focuses on the need to question Microsoft's advertising rhetoric and seek a more nuanced assessment of the real impact of these AI co-pilots on our daily experience with technology.
A striking replica of ChatGPT with variable weight assets
Microsoft's Copilot app for Android appears to impressively replicate ChatGPT's functionality, offering access to chatbot functions, image generation via DALL-E 3, and supported text editing for emails and documents. A notable feature is free access to OpenAI's latest GPT-4 model, a benefit monetized through ChatGPT.
The deployment of this application on Android comes barely a month after Microsoft decided to rename Bing Chat to Copilot. First, Microsoft launched an artificial intelligence initiative in its Bing search engine and integrated a ChatGPT-like interface into search results. Although this interface is still present, Microsoft has decided to abandon the Bing Chat branding, giving Copilot more autonomy and a significant presence on its own dedicated domain, copilot.microsoft.com, similar to ChatGPT.
Expanding into mobile apps for Copilot seems like a natural evolution of this standalone experience, especially since Bing Chat Enterprise went through a similar transformation and became Copilot.
However, the lack of an iOS version of Copilot raises questions, although expectations suggest it could be available soon. In the meantime, the solution offered to iPhone users is to use the Bing application to access Copilot's current features. This strategy raises questions about the coherence of Microsoft's approach, particularly when it comes to branding and user experience, and raises the question of whether the integration of Copilot on Android really represents a significant step forward or just a superficial expansion of its digital fingerprint.
Source: Dedicated Copilot app for Android
And you ?
The integration of Copilot on Android: a real advance or a simple imitation of ChatGPT?
Why do people use or pay for ChatGPT when Microsoft Copilot is free and it's pretty much the same thing?
The lack of an iOS version of Copilot raises questions about Microsoft's deployment strategy. What could be the reasons for this choice and what consequences could this have?
See also:
DALL-E 3 is now available in ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise and allows paying ChatGPT subscribers to use the image generator
The new Microsoft 365 Copilot, based on OpenAI's GPT-4, is available for $30 per month. The tool integrates with Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and more
Bing Chat is now called Microsoft Copilot, a renaming that could cause confusion, although Microsoft is interested in unification