Microsoft’s Windows Copilot Falls Short of AI Hype
Key Points
- Microsoft markets Windows Copilot as a conversational AI that can see, speak, and act for users.
- Testing reveals frequent misidentifications of objects in images and inconsistent answers.
- The assistant cannot perform advertised actions like toggling system settings or running simulations.
- Responses often rely on file names rather than visual analysis, leading to inaccurate guidance.
- Current functionality is limited to basic tasks; advanced features are still experimental.
- Microsoft acknowledges that full Copilot Actions are not yet available to the public.
- Potential benefits for accessibility exist, but the present version falls short of expectations.
Microsoft promotes Windows Copilot as a conversational AI that can see, speak, and act on a user’s behalf, but early testing reveals a gap between marketing promises and reality. The assistant struggles to correctly identify objects in images, provides inconsistent answers, and cannot perform many of the tasks it advertises, such as controlling system settings or running simulations. While the technology shows potential for accessibility and future integration, its current performance leaves users frustrated and raises questions about Microsoft’s timeline for a fully functional AI‑driven PC experience.
Marketing the Future of Computing
Microsoft has positioned Windows Copilot as the centerpiece of a new era where computers understand natural language, see the screen, and act on user commands. Advertisements showcase the assistant identifying a microphone in a YouTube video, estimating rocket thrust, and even guiding users to travel destinations, all while speaking in a friendly tone. The company’s executives describe the vision as a "computer you can talk to" that can perform actions on behalf of the user.
Real‑World Testing Shows Gaps
In practice, the assistant falls short of these lofty claims. When asked to identify a HyperX microphone, Copilot first gave generic information about dynamic microphones, then misidentified the model, later providing a dead Amazon link and an incorrect Best Buy link. In a separate test involving a Saturn V rocket image, the AI could not recognize the rocket, offered a rough thrust estimate of 7.5 million pounds, and refused to run the requested simulation, redirecting the user to Matlab.
Attempts to locate a photographed cave produced mixed results. The assistant sometimes suggested opening File Explorer, occasionally gave generic travel advice for Belize, and at other times responded based on the file name rather than visual content. Renaming the image to "new-jersey-crystal-caves-limestone.jpg" caused Copilot to immediately suggest the New Jersey crystal cave, confirming its reliance on file metadata over visual analysis.
Limited Functional Capabilities
Beyond visual identification, Copilot Vision cannot perform many actions that the ads imply. Users cannot toggle system settings, run local scripts, or execute complex tasks like portfolio summarization without producing generic, often inaccurate text. In spreadsheet assistance, the AI performed simple percentage calculations but repeatedly misread clear scores, undermining trust in its analytical abilities.
Gaming assistance was equally underwhelming. When asked about "Hollow Knight: Silksong," Copilot provided only surface‑level information, and in the card game Balatro it failed to recognize the cards in hand, offering unrelated mechanics from other games.
Future Potential and Current Limitations
Microsoft acknowledges that Copilot Actions on Windows—features that would allow the assistant to manipulate local files—are not yet available and are being rolled out experimentally to Windows Insiders. The company frames the current version as an early, opt‑in experiment meant to gather data and improve performance.
While the technology could eventually benefit accessibility users by offering voice‑controlled interactions, the present iteration feels incomplete and, at times, incompetent. The disparity between promotional material and actual user experience highlights a significant gap that Microsoft must bridge before delivering on its vision of an AI‑driven personal computer.