- Microsoft has released a Phone plugin for Copilot allowing it to read messages and get contact information for you.
- This plugin is exclusively available for Copilot in the Microsoft Edge browser and users will have to connect their phones with a Windows PC via Phone Link.
- You can use it to summarize or draft text messages for you, however it cannot make calls as of now.
Microsoft recently added a bunch of plugins for Copilot, its own generative AI chatbot powered by GPT-4. These plugins are similar to what we have seen previously with Chat GPT-4 like OpenTable, Shop, and Instacart. Among the additions is a new Copilot plugin called Phone that will change the way you respond to messages on your phone.
The description of the Phone plugin reads, “Look up contact information, read and send text messages using your Android phone.” This means that you can now use the AI chatbot to read or reply to your messages without having to touch your phone. As you can see from the attached screenshot, it provided details for a delivery that I was supposed to receive.
What Can You Do With this Plugin?
Of course, this functionality isn’t new. We have been able to do this on our phones for years thanks to Google Assistant and Siri. However, with the capability of generative AI, you can get a summary of a large string of messages instead of having to read them individually. Another advantage is that you can provide a general context for what you want to write, and the AI will do it for you.
How to Use Phone Plugin with Copilot
If you want to try out the Phone plugin on Copilot as well, then you need to connect your phone to a Windows PC using the Phone Link app. Once your phone is connected, provide the required permissions, and then we can move on to the next step.
- Once your phone is connected via Phone Link, open the Microsoft Edge browser on your PC.
- Here, click on the Copilot icon at the top right.
- Now, click on the Plugins icon and then turn on the Phone toggle.
This will enable the plugin. You can now ask Copilot queries about your text messages and contacts within the Edge browser only. Do note that it cannot make phone calls as of now.
The plugin is rolling out to all users, even on the free version of Copilot. If you are unable to see the plugin, then you will have to update the browser to the latest version. Hopefully, this plugin will make its way to the Copilot app on Android, where you can set it as the default assistant. This will make it a much more functional option, going toe to toe with Google’s Gemini.
What are your thoughts about this new Phone plugin in Copilot, would you want to give it a try? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
