OK, then: MS just pushed a new Copilot version via the MS Store (1.25023.106.0). After the update, it announces itself anew on the desktop “Hi, I’m Copilot, your AI companion.” And again — as shown in the lead-in graphic — it asks you to set it up with toggles for diagnostic data, auto-start at log in, and the Alt+Spacebar shortcut.

What Copilot UI Goes Native Means

Apparently MS is previewing this new look in at various Insider Preview channels (I see it in the Canary and Beta Channels right now). According to Zac Bowden at Windows Central, this represents a “brand-new Copilot app for Windows 11 that utilizes the company’s native app UI framework for a more cohesive experience.”

Among other things, this includes (all bullet points quoted verbatim from Bowden’s story):

• a sidebar for different chats
• mica blur effects
• native context menus and buttons … more aligned with Windows 11’s design language

FWIW, that sidebar appears to the left in the Copilot Window and shows links to previous chat topics. Interestingly, the new version picks up this info from the online data Copilot maintains about users, so you can see the 20 most recent prompts when you fire up the new version for the first time.

Copilot Is Unable to Explain Itself

Just for grins, I asked Copilot to tell me about its new UI capabilities. It replied by saying it lacked “specific knowledge about my interface or updates…[it is]… designed to work seamlessly with the tools available … to make …. interactions engaging and smooth.” This includes the following items (quoted verbatim):

• Visual Elements: I can use markdown formatting to structure and present information in an appealing way, such as headings, tables, bullet points and even LaTex for math equations.
• File and Image Integration: You can upload images or files, and I can understand and describe their content (though I can’t edit images you upload).
• AI Tools: I have capabilities to search the web for up-to-date information or generate unique, creative images based on your prompts.
• Language Adaptability: I adapt to your tone and preferences, aiming to feel less like a tool and more like a thoughtful collaborator.

And here’s the image it generated to show those things off, after I asked it to include some text labels in its initial cryptic offering:

Here’s Copilot’s effort to depict its manifold capabilites (note the various misspellings throughout). Sigh.

It did do something more interesting when I pointed those misspelling out and asked it to correct the. Hooray! It’s another rabbit hole.

My only question is: is the gibberish deliberate or accidental? It’s nteresting, though. Bu overall, Copilot still feels more like a tool to me, and less like a thoughtful collaborator. Just sayin’…

Note Added 15 Minutes Later

I now see that the new version is more widely available than I had thought. It’s running on my Windows 10 desktop right now (Release Preview Insider Channel). But it’s that, too, is a Windows Insider item. It’s not coming through on any of my production Windows 11 PCs (currently at Build 26100.3194).