Microsoft thinks trash-talking AI can help you game better

With the rise of tech companies shoving AI into every nook and cranny of our lives, Microsoft has done the inevitable, revealing a fresh AI for gamers called Copilot for Gaming. As you can guess, it’s Copilot, but now it can apparently trash-talk gamers. It’s all very “how do you do fellow kids,” and while there may be some usefulness to having a constantly accessible AI assistant when gaming, one has to wonder how many gamers actually want an AI assistant for gaming in the first place, or why an existing AI needs a gamer skin to begin with.

Once again, the latest and greatest AI has to offer appears to be a solution looking for a problem, now with the added cloak of gamer trash talk to really appeal to the young ones. But no, Microsoft isn’t out of touch with its audience. Nope.

Copilot for Gaming could be useful

But so far it apparently stinks

Utilizing an AI assistant while gaming could be helpful and Microsoft has detailed a few features that gamers should find beneficial. Say you get stuck in a level and don’t know where to go. Fire up Copilot for Gaming and ask how to get unstuck. Or maybe you’re wondering what the next boss has in store for you, and need to know what weapons and consumables to bring to the fight, Copilot for Gaming to the rescue. That is, if it understood your voice commands in the first place, and doesn’t hallucinate.

Microsoft has even clarified that gamers have to choose to use Copilot for Gaming, it’s not forced on players, which is certainly good news. Of course Microsoft plans to tweak the service as it is tested, so player feedback from the Xbox Insider Program will be crucial to ensure Copilot for Gaming doesn’t land as a dud. Testing will begin on mobile first, and Microsoft has even supplied a mockup of what that may look like, which basically showcases a user asking the AI to install a game they are viewing on their mobile phone on their console. Installing and updating games through voice commands is another way Copilot for AI could be handy for gamers.

Then, there is the trash-talking feature mentioned in the Copilot for Gaming podcast reveal video, which just feels a little too on the nose for a gaming-specific AI. You know how most people despise gamer aesthetics on products? That’s all AI trash talking amounts to, a skin marketers think will appeal to children. Meanwhile, back in reality, all you need to do is go online in any competitive game if you’re looking to be insulted until you improve your skills. No AI necessary.

Sadly, the most egregious issue with Copilot for Gaming is that it barely delivers (so says Arstechnica), at least in its current state, looking to be no more useful than console UI popups that already exist, like alerts friends are playing a certain game you can join. In other words, so far, there is little that’s revolutionary about Copilot for Gaming, and while that may change as the tool is tested, it’s hard to ignore just how many companies are making big promises for AI that currently underdelivers. Still, if you’d like to toss your hat in the ring for testing, you’ll first have to join the Xbox Insider Program.