Abstract
- Now you can customize your Android experience by choosing Microsoft’s Copilot as the default assistant on your Android phone.
- Copilot, powered by GPT-4, beats OpenAI’s ChatGPT to be the default assistant on Android.
- Although it’s half-baked now, Microsoft is likely fine-tuning Copilot’s execution before the public launch.
Android customization is one of its key strengths, allowing you to personalize the OS as you wish. So, while all Android phones ship with Google Assistant as the default assistant, you can use any voice assistant you like as long as the latter supports this feature. In early January 2024, there were signs that OpenAI’s ChatGPT may soon support becoming the default assistant on Android. Although it hasn’t happened yet, Microsoft has updated the Copilot app for Android, allowing you to set it as the default digital assistant app on your phone.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
The newest AI-powered chatbot on the market has real potential
The feature is part of the latest Copilot beta app for Android v27.9.420225014. If you are on the beta channel, download the update from the Play Store, go to Settings > Applications > Default applications > Digital assistant applicationand select Copilot from the list.
Interestingly, Microsoft’s Copilot is powered by GPT-4, the same OpenAI’s LLM that currently powers ChatGPT. Additionally, Microsoft’s Copilot app for Android launched last Christmas, while the ChatGPT app has been around for a few months. So it’s surprising that Microsoft beat OpenAI to add digital assistant support to its chatbot.
However, the company’s business is half-baked in its current form. After setting Copilot as the default assistant on your Android phone, launching the chatbot will open the app’s main activity from which you have to tap the microphone button. For comparison, if you replaced the Assistant with Gemini, it will display an overlay and automatically start listening to your voice.
As Mishaal Rahman notes, Microsoft doesn’t even use APIs that would allow Copilot to take screenshots of screen content.
Given that the ability to set Copilot as the default assistant is only available in the beta channel, Microsoft is likely working on further refining its implementation. So, the company could address these limitations before rolling out the feature to Copilot’s public channel.
If you’re not part of Copilot’s Google Play beta program, you can download the latest beta APK from APKMirror, sideload the app, and then set Microsoft’s chatbot as the default assistant on your phone. But with the implementation halfway through, you might want to hold off for now.