The best ways to utilise Microsoft’s new Copilot app: The ChatGPT alternative
Microsoft has launched its Copilot service, a standalone app available for download on Android and iOS. Nearly one month after Microsoft rebranded Bing Chat to Copilot, the Copilot app for Android was released.
Microsoft introduced its AI initiative within its Bing search engine earlier this year, incorporating a user interface resembling ChatGPT into search results. Although the former is still accessible, Microsoft has removed the Bing Chat branding from Copilot and designated it as an independent experience with its domain at copilot.microsoft.com, much like ChatGPT.
The app offers users a generative AI chatbot powered by the latest AI models, GPT-4 and DALL-E 3, with search capabilities through its Bing search engine. Copilot’s best features include a familiar interface for typing requests or trying out sample prompts, a text box at the bottom for typing questions, and a camera icon for uploading photos and images.
Flipping the switch for GPT-4 provides more reliable and accurate responses compared to the standard model. Copilot also has the text-to-image model DALL-E 3 on board, allowing users to ask Copilot to generate photos, art, and other visuals based on their text descriptions. Copilot offers most of the functionalities that ChatGPT’s premium tier offers, except that it is free.
Copilot can be used for various tasks, including drafting emails, writing stories and scripts, translating and proofreading, resume writing and updating, summarising text, creating itineraries, and generating highly usable images. It can also suggest logo designs, make custom backgrounds, generate social media content, develop brand motifs, build and update portfolios, and illustrate books.
The DALL-E 3 integration allows Copilot to generate highly usable images, such as logo designs, background images, social media content, brand motifs, portfolio-worthy images, and illustrations. However, it has a lower input limit of 4,000 characters, making it less suitable for summarising larger chunks of text.
Bing Chat Enterprise was also rebranded to Copilot, so it seems only natural that mobile applications be developed to complement the existing Copilot experience. Although there are currently no indications of an iOS version of Copilot, one is not imminent. Until then, you can always access the existing Copilot features via the Bing app on an iPhone or iPad.
