Microsoft wants to change the way we use our browsers, with multiple tabs open with some holding information, others our work, and us jumping in between all of them.
Announced by Chairman and CEO at Microsoft, Satya Nadella, Copilot Mode, a new experimental mode in Microsoft Edge that enables AI features in Edge to enhance its use.
Microsoft calls it “smarter” as your tabs no longer sit idle waiting for input. It’s meant to anticipate what you might want to do next. It will be a helper that can understand what you’re researching, predict what you will do next, and take action on your behalf. It will appear in a dynamic pane while keeping the original page visible.
“Hello Edge!”
Users will see a page with a single input box and can search, chat, and navigate the web with Copilot’s assistance. Copilot will also support voice navigation for browsing in Edge. This means you can speak directly to Copilot about what you’re trying to do. Whether it’s locating information on a page or having Copilot open a few tabs to compare options between products, just say what you need, and Copilot will help you move faster with less clicking and typing.
So when visiting a specific web page or task, you can turn to Copilot for more help.
For example, Microsoft showcased an example of how someone might ask the AI companion if a specific day next week will be sunny, and if it is, to book a paddleboard session.
You can also ask it to just give you the recipe or instructions so you don’t have to scroll through a whole page of ads or unnecessary content.
Viewing and understanding everything all at once
If granted permission, Copilot can see all your open tabs at once so it can understand the full context of what you’re exploring online. This means better comparisons, faster decisions and less tab toggling.
For example, you can let Copilot see all your open tabs so you can ask it to compare a bunch of hotels you might be considering for a holiday, or to help you decide on the right robot vacuum cleaner to purchase from multiple product tabs.
Let’s go back!
Working on a big project or plan? Copilot will also prompt people to pick up where they left off on a project or something they’re researching, by providing suggestions for what to do next, like recommending a specific tutorial to watch.
Free ‘for now’
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft or even Google has added AI capabilities to Edge and Chrome. But as both companies use their browsers to fuel the AI wars, as consumers, we can only benefit (security and privacy concerns aside). Microsoft has taken great pains to stress that Copilot will only be able to access someone’s browsing content on an opt in basis, and when activated Edge will show the user its on with visual cues when Copilot is viewing or listening.
Copilot Mode is available for free, for a limited time, starting today in all markets that Copilot is available, exclusively on Edge for Windows and Mac. Microsoft said that it will continue to improve and add features to Copilot Mode. And if at any time you want to return to Edge’s classic experience, this can be done in your browser settings. It’s also a fully opt-in feature, so if you want to try it out, be sure to click here.