Microsoft announced two new Surface devices and a host of new accessories at today's virtual event, but the first part of the presentation focused on how the company's AI Copilot will be more deeply integrated into Windows. I was guessed. However, for the most part, this was a hardware event with enterprise software dressing. But this is the current situation at Microsoft. Everything requires a Copilot perspective, even the simplest hardware events.
The actual Copilot story that Microsoft tells at length here is primarily a summary of previously announced updates, customer testimonials, and meetings they didn't attend or documents they didn't attend. It was a rehash of a lot of the chatter about how to improve employee happiness and productivity. I don't read it.
“Windows 11 and Windows 365 promise a new era of AI productivity,” said Melissa Grant, senior director of Windows Enterprise at Microsoft. “Our goal is to help our employees work more efficiently and creatively and make the most of their productive time.”
How exactly is Microsoft going to do that? It's adding a toggle to the Copilot experience in Windows 11, allowing users to switch between “work” and “web.”[作業]The button brings Copilot's Microsoft 365 capabilities and the internal data it powers into a Windows interface. That's because the first part of Microsoft's Copilot strategy is to make Copilot available to as many people as possible. After all, Windows is intended to “deliver the technology on the path to an AI-centric organization,” Grant said.
CoPilot for Windows. Image credit: Microsoft
Microsoft is also betting on cloud PCs delivered through Windows 365 as a Copilot surface. The apps for accessing these cloud PCs (and Azure Virtual Desktop and Remote Desktop) are aptly named Windows apps. According to Microsoft, Windows app usage has now exceeded 3 million active hours since entering preview at Microsoft Ignite 2023 in November. That's a big number, but it only takes about 3,000 to 4,000 users working full-time on cloud PCs during work hours to reach this number since the service's launch. Microsoft cites Vodafone and Zurich Insurance Group as early adopters.
Microsoft also highlights that Copilot can now perform some basic IT functions directly from chat (or at least open the appropriate settings window), which was already announced a few weeks ago. It used to be. And what about Windows 365 cloud PCs? You can now resize them.
That's all. To subscribe, press the Copilot button.