Image: Microsoft
Stuck on a boss? Don’t know how to “perfect parry?” Microsoft is adding its AI assistant, Copilot, to help you with your games via an addition to the Windows Game Bar application.
Right now, what Microsoft is calling “Gaming Copilot (Beta)” will show up only for those enrolled in previews for Xbox Insiders on the PC platform. Microsoft has issued a similar update for handheld PCs, too.
Microsoft says that Gaming Copilot understands what game you’re playing, which makes sense. A Voice Mode allows you to open an oral conversation via the “microphone” widget and then pin the widget to your screen as you play. You can also snap a screenshot of your screen and then let Gaming Copilot “look” at it for additional help.
To use the new Copilot-equipped Game Bar, you’ll need to be enrolled in the program, launch Game Bar (the Windows key+G) and then look for the Gaming Copilot logo on the home bar to open the widget, Microsoft says. It’s available for Xbox Insiders in the United States, but only if you’re 18 or older. Microsoft doesn’t explain the last requirement.
Oddly, Microsoft already has a technology to “see” your entire screen and help you out: Copilot Vision, which Microsoft says is out of beta and is available for all PCs in the United States. But Copilot Vision’s vision was pretty lousy when I tested it on games like Solitaire, let alone quick first-person games.
Microsoft may have improved its “vision” capabilities with the new Copilot Game Bar, but I wouldn’t expect it to be as helpful as an online guide or just a nearby buddy. But with the Copilot application cropping up everywhere — within Windows, the Edge browser, even applications like Microsoft Excel — expect Copilot’s march to continue into pretty much every PC application that Microsoft owns.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers’ News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.
