Microsoft is turning Copilot from an \"assistant\" into a \"super app.\" According to The Verge, Microsoft is merging multiple of its Copilot applications - including Copilot in Office, Windows 11's Copilot sidebar, and Edge browser's Copilot - into a unified AI platform. This marks a major shift in Microsoft's AI strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously, Copilot was scattered across different products. Users had to use AI to write documents in Word, use AI to search web pages in Edge, and use AI to change settings in the Windows sidebar\u2014the experience was fragmented and the functions were duplicated. Microsoft\u2019s new strategy is:Integrate all Copilot into a single \"super app\"<\/strong>, providing a unified AI experience across products and scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft's Copilot super app is likely to open up third-party plugins and APIs. This means developers can build AI tools based on the Copilot platform without having to build them from scratch. Analogous to what WeChat mini programs are to Tencent, the Copilot super application may be Microsoft's \"operating system level entry\" in the AI \u200b\u200bera. For independent developers and AI tool entrepreneurs, this is a new distribution channel worth paying attention to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time as the merger, Microsoft also killed Copilot\u2019s cartoon mascot Mico, an AI character similar to Clippy. This decision shows that Microsoft is shifting Copilot's positioning from a \"cute assistant\" to a \"professional tool.\" Adultization and de-entertainment are the only way for AI tools to move towards mainstream enterprises. Looking back on the history of Clippy being criticized by users for being \"too annoying\", Microsoft learned the lesson this time - do the functionality first, then the personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft's Copilot super app strategy takes direct aim ChatGPT<\/a> independent application mode. If Microsoft succeeds, it may become the largest \"platform application\" in the AI \u200b\u200bera - with a user base of 400 million in the Office ecosystem, plus the desktop entrance advantage of Windows. But the challenges are also obvious: Microsoft has never really succeeded in making \"super applications\" (such as Skype and Teams) on the mobile side in the past, and it remains to be seen whether Copilot can break the curse.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy merge?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Opportunities for developers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mico axed: The end of the mascot era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Impact on industry structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n