Microsoft says Copilot's animated avatar is called Mico

Do you remember Microsoft Clippy? Now, say hello to its AI version, the blob. Err, its name is Mico.

You may have seen blobby, Mico, before. The AI avatar, or virtual character, whatever you want to call it, has been a part of Copilot Voice mode for a while. It's even available on Samsung TVs and monitors. Why the name? Why Mico? It's short for Microsoft Copilot. That's a little on the nose, but fair enough.

Microsoft has tried this before, with Cortana. It was supposed to be the cool "voice-based assistant". Except, Cortana was a disaster, barely anyone used it, and a lot of people hated it. Microsoft believes Copilot Voice will change things around. It says Copilot is the AI that listens, learns, and earns your trust. Perhaps Mico will help users engage more with the AI. That seems to be the plan, at least. It's all part of "the computer you can talk to" marketing strategy.

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO, Microsoft AI, describes Mico as an AI" companion that is personalized for users. It is expressive, customizable and warm. Well, it's not a teddy bear. Mico listens to you, animates, reacts, and changes colors to reflect your interactions. The Redmond company says this is meant to make voice conversations feel more natural.

Microsoft's VP of product and growth, Jacob Andreou, told The Verge, "Clippy walked so that we could run". If Copilot voice mode is on, Mico is turned on by default too. But you can turn it off if you don't like it. Since Mico is basically Copilot, it uses the memory feature of the AI, while interacting with you. It's also getting a Learn Live mode to explain things to the user, instead of just giving answers.

Here's a video demo of Mico.

It's cute, I'll give it that. Amusing, maybe? Is that enough reason to use an AI? Personally, I'd say no. But people have gotten attached to virtual characters like Tamagotchi, so who knows. Mico is only available in the U.S. currently.

What do you think about Mico? Is it going to be your AI buddy?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft says Copilot's animated avatar is called Mico appeared first on gHacks Technology News.