Microsoft rolls AI Copilot features into Edge

Microsoft is trying to make Edge the best browser for business, apparently.

During its Microsoft Build event on Tuesday, the Windows maker announced a couple of AI-tinged enhancements to its Edge browser. The big one is the addition of Microsoft 365 Copilot (an enterprise-focused AI system) to Edge. The service will be natively integrated into the browser. (Also, Windows received an AI assistant of its own)

What does that mean, exactly? Well, the purpose of Microsoft Copilot is to use AI to bolster your productivity and workflow. It plugs into all your Microsoft data (including your calendar, chats, emails, and documents) and uses that data to help you out using conversational requests. For example, ask it to "tell my team how we updated our product strategy today" and it will generate a response based on relevant information from that day.

This has existed outside of Edge prior to now, but integrating it directly into the browser should make it more accessible. Microsoft also announced support for Copilot plugins, which will let developers enable AI chat services for their products. It uses the same standard as ChatGPT, too, so they should be interoperable.

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These aren't revolutionary, world-changing features or anything, but for people who manage teams of employees and who happen to use Edge, they could be pretty convenient.