I tested the new Copilot Voice, Microsoft’s AI voice assistant. You can, too – for free

Regardless that AI chatbots appeared essentially the most cutting-edge know-how simply two years in the past, multimodal AI assistants are the newest frontier, with firms dashing to launch AI-supported voice assistants. Microsoft is the newest to hitch the race. 

On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled an up to date Copilot, with one in all its largest highlights being the addition of Copilot Voice, a voice assistant that may be interrupted to have multi-turn conversations with you and reply to your feelings.

Copilot Voice has 4 completely different voices: Wave, Meadow, Grove, and Canyon. It’s obtainable throughout all platforms which you can entry Copilot, together with the app, standalone web site, and Home windows. The largest perk? It’s free for all customers. 

Which means that, not like ChatGPT’s Voice Mode, you need not spend $20 per 30 days on a premium AI membership to make use of it. Regardless that Google’s counterpart, Gemini Stay, is free with the Gemini app, it’s restricted to Android customers, whereas Copilot Voice just isn’t. 

So, how nicely does it really maintain up in dialog? I had the chance to demo it in the present day on the NYC Microsoft Copilot and Home windows Occasion and was left impressed.

When chatting with the voice possibility “Wave,” an upbeat male-sounding voice, I used to be shocked by how enthusiastic the assistant was from the get-go. Regardless of there being noise within the background, it understood each phrase I stated clearly, even with out me annunciating each phrase like I sometimes would with a voice assistant. 

It additionally carried out conversations nicely with fast, witty, and, maybe most significantly, well timed responses, by no means skipping a beat. The responses have been additionally contextually related, which is commonly a difficulty with voice assistants as they do not all the time perceive the intent of what you might be saying and, consequently, output weird solutions. 

In a distinct demo, a Microsoft consultant prompted Copilot Voice to assist her work by the problem of eager to undertake a canine with out her companion being on board. Copilot Voice diligently labored by the issue, asking follow-up inquiries to get to know the issue higher and providing fairly stable options similar to what a human would recommend. 

So, for the burning query, how does it evaluate to Gemini Stay and ChatGPT’s Voice Mode? In my expertise, I discovered it to be simply nearly as good, working almost identically. The one main distinction is that everybody can take benefit with out having to pay for a subscription or personal a particular gadget, which is a win in my e-book. 

The rollout for Voice Mode begins in the present day. If you’re occupied with accessing it, create a Microsoft account, obtain the free Copilot app when you plan on utilizing it in your telephone, or replace the app if you have already got it downloaded. 

At time of writing, I’ve entry to the up to date Copilot on my iPhone 16 Professional from my free account.