Skip to main content

Microsoft Build 2023: the biggest announcements in AI, Windows, and more

Microsoft’s annual developer’s conference has arrived, and a slew of big announcements have already been unveiled. AI is, obviously, the big theme of the event and continues to be top-of-radar for Microsoft and the entire tech community.

But there are also some big announcements for Windows, the Edge browser, Teams, and more.

Recommended Videos

AI comes to Windows

Copilot in Windows being used in the side panel.
Microsoft

If you thought Microsoft would slow down on its investment in AI after the rush to Bing Chat earlier this year, you’d be dead wrong. Not only is Bing Chat coming to every Microsoft 365 app, but it’s now also coming to Windows 11 itself. That’s right — it’s called the Windows Copilot, an AI assistant that follows you wherever you go within the operating system.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

You can use it to search the internet, of course, but it can also complete actions for you and interact with apps you have open contextually. We’re really curious to see how useful Windows Copilot is, but there’s no question it’s a huge moment for AI. No websites or logins needed — this stuff is going to be baked right into your computer’s operating system.

Bing Chat plugins

Third-party plugins have been a huge deal for ChatGPT, opening up how the AI can interact with specific applications. However, so far, they’ve only been available for ChatGPT Plus. Bing Chat plugins will share the same plugin standard that OpenAI uses, meaning they will be fully interoperable across both ChatGPT and all of Microsoft’s Copilot offerings. That also means developers can create plugins that will work in ChatGPT, as well as for Microsoft 365 applications like Word or Powerpoint.

Adding on to the already-announced plugins like OpenTable and Wolfram Alpha, Microsoft is also introducing Instacart, Kayak, Klarna, Redfin and Zillow, and more.

AI media detection coming to Bing Image Creator

The Bing Image Creator being used in Bing Chat, showing images created from prompts.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With all the talk of AI, the question of plagiarism and media literacy has been a primary concern. Google announced its own attempt to correct this problem, and now Microsoft is bringing AI detection to Bing Image Creator and Microsoft Designer. By using cryptographic methods to identify metadata, AI-generated content will be tagged as such in the coming months.

So far, it will only be support for major image and video formats — AI-generated text is, obviously, still increasingly difficult to detect.

Edge Workspaces and more

Microsoft had a couple of interesting Edge browser updates, including the launch of workspaces. On one hand, Workspaces is Microsoft’s answer to tab groups, which is what Chrome uses to help people organize tabs. Workspaces allows you to collect together different websites into a single folder, which can easily be navigated between in a table of contents. This was originally announced in 2022, and according to Microsoft, became “one of the most popular Edge features in preview testing.” Microsoft says it will become generally available in the next few months for both enterprise and, eventually, consumers at large.

Microsoft also showcased an update to Microsoft Edge for Business, which provides “a dedicated work experience” for employees at companies. Most importantly, there’s a neat way of switching directly between work and personal with a simple toggle.

Microsoft Teams metaverse features

Avatars being used Microsoft Teams in a grid view.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Last year at Build, the metaverse was all anyone could about. That’s changed significantly in the course of a year, but Microsoft hasn’t given up on the idea entirely yet. Two of the most important Microsoft Mesh features are finally rolling out to users: avatars in calls and virtual spaces. Avatars lets you have an alternative to camera or no camera, with the option for a 3D avatar. Virtual spaces, meanwhile, lets you bring those avatars into 3D environments to interact in instead of generic video calls. These virtual spaces are ideally experienced VR, but can also be used in 2D.

Starting today, you’ll be able to check out both features in private preview.

Luke Larsen
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Microsoft finally kills this legacy Windows app — for good this time
Skype shown on a laptop screen.

Microsoft has finally retired support on Skype for Business software, after announcing its pending deprecation during a November 2023 update.

Users will no longer have access to Skype for Business servers. They will not be able to access the XML settings for Skype for Business or have the ability to sign in for support to Skype for Business meetings, Microsoft said.

Read more
Copilot is slowly pushing more AI into your Teams calls and chats
An example of a six-person Teams call with Copilot insights included on the right sidebar.

Microsoft is boosting Teams with some more artificial intelligence-powered capabilities. The company's Copilot AI assistant is coming to more places inside the Teams app, and the new integrations should help make your meetings smarter and more convenient.

Three big Copilot features are coming to Microsoft Teams for your calls, chats, and call recaps. With the first, Copilot will be able to grab the insights from your meeting chat and meeting transcript, giving you a better view of what's happened, whether it was spoken aloud and written in the chat.

Read more
Copilot: how to use Microsoft’s own version of ChatGPT
Microsoft's AI Copilot being used in various Microsoft Office apps.

ChatGPT isn’t the only AI chatbot in town. One direct competitor is Microsoft’s Copilot (formerly Bing Chat), and if you’ve never used it before, you should definitely give it a try. As part of a greater suite of Microsoft tools, Copilot can be integrated into your smartphone, tablet, and desktop experience, thanks to a Copilot sidebar in Microsoft Edge. 

Like any good AI chatbot, Copilot’s abilities are constantly evolving, so you can always expect something new from this generative learning professional. Today though, we’re giving a crash course on where to find Copilot, how to download it, and how you can use the amazing bot. 
How to get Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot comes to Bing and Edge. Microsoft

Read more