Microsoft has been working diligently to integrate its Copilot AI companion into various aspects of its web browser, Edge. In the latest development, the company has introduced Copilot Vision, a feature designed to understand and analyze your Edge browser sessions. Microsoft announced this feature alongside Copilot Labs, which is expected to preview similar features to Edge before a full-blown release.
According to Microsoft, Copilot Vision is a more capable companion that can understand what you see on a webpage that you have opened. More importantly, you can use natural language to ask Copilot Vision the many questions you may have about the content. More importantly, Microsoft has ensured that Vision does not have control over your actions on the web.
For instance, you cannot ask Copilot Vision to post a photo on Instagram or write a comment on Facebook. However, if you indeed went through a Facebook post or a Twitter thread, Copilot Vision may offer you curated summaries and natural answers to your questions.
However, considering user concerns over the use of AI training data and privacy, Edge will launch Copilot Vision as a completely opt-in feature. This means that a user has to activate the feature manually to use it. As of now, the feature is in Preview mode, but users can expect it soon in the primary release as well. But, no matter when you access it, you must be wary of the following restrictions.
Though Copilot Vision can follow you on the web and understand what you see, the feature does not work on all websites. For instance, Microsoft Edge has blocked Copilot Vision on websites equipped with paywalls or sensitive content. Instead, the feature will be available on a handful of popular websites based on a pre-approved list. Even if a user tries to launch Copilot Vision on a webpage with a paywall, the AI assistant will keep mum.
Copilot Labs contains a number of features, including Think Deeper. While available only to Copilot Pro users in select countries, this feature enhances the cognitive abilities of Copilot AI on Edge. It may soon be available globally, of course, judging how it is perceived. In many ways, Copilot Labs is a great way to avoid the severe issue of AI hallucination, where AI suggests problematic and insensitive content. This preview community is expected to help Microsoft Edge become a better AI-powered browser while tackling multiple privacy-related issues.
