Microsoft is making its debut in the AI browser market with innovative Copilot features for Edge.
On Monday, Microsoft introduced Copilot Mode for Edge, an optional experimental feature equipped with interactive AI capabilities. This includes awareness of context across various tabs, natural language voice commands for hands-free navigation, and a pop-up chatbot that can respond to inquiries about the current page.
In the near future, Copilot Mode will have the ability to take command of your browser to accomplish tasks such as making reservations. It will also retain your browsing history and offer suggestions based on your search activities.
Copilot Mode in Edge joins Perplexity Comet, ChatGPT Agent, and other AI assistants that are capable of browsing the web on behalf of users. New reasoning models facilitate more sophisticated tasks, marking the emergence of autonomous agents for shopping, calendar management, and more. Furthermore, the potential sale of Chrome by Google has created new avenues for AI-driven browsers to challenge conventional ones.
AI browsers are advertised as proactive, customized assistants for online activities, rather than just static gateways for manual information retrieval. Nonetheless, heightened security concerns, compatibility issues (with sites not designed for agents), and established browsing patterns may impede widespread adoption.
Additionally, this hyper-personalization prompts privacy issues since AI browsers gather substantial amounts of data. Microsoft stresses that Copilot Mode is strictly opt-in, with data collection managed through personalization settings. Users have the option to disable Copilot Mode at any point, and there will be obvious visual cues when Copilot is operational. For advanced functionalities like making reservations, Microsoft indicates that Copilot requires user permission to access browsing history and password information.
How to experiment with Copilot Mode
Copilot Mode is currently offered at no charge. Microsoft mentions that the new features are accessible for a limited period, without detailing the timeframe. To get started, install the Edge browser on either Windows or Mac. Then, navigate to aka.ms/copilot-mode to opt into the experiment. Once you have opted in, you can activate Copilot Mode in your Edge settings.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of Mashable, initiated legal action against OpenAI in April, claiming it violated Ziff Davis copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.