personal tech
Microsoft winds down console AI assistant as new boss says it no longer fits the plan
Microsoft is halting Copilot development for Xbox consoles.
New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), saying the company "will stop development of Copilot on console," retiring features that "don't align with where we're headed." Whatever the future holds for Xbox, it appears that Copilot will not feature in it.
The Copilot brand has not become the halo Microsoft hoped for. The AI assistant has yet to catch fire with customers in the same way as rivals like Gemini and ChatGPT. Last month, the Copilot icon was removed from Notepad, and earlier this year, Microsoft promised to rethink its approach to foisting the technology into every crevice of its flagship operating system and applications.
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It is against this background that the Gaming Copilot is being discontinued in its current form before ever leaving beta. Although the recommendation engine may have been useful to some beta users, it doesn't fit with where Sharma wants to take the Xbox platform, so it must walk the plank.
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Sharma also said that "Copilot on mobile" is being wound down, which we suspect refers only to the Xbox-related mobile Copilot experience, not the wider Copilot apps for iOS and Android.
Customers paying for Copilot services on other Microsoft platforms, such as GitHub, are no doubt watching the Xbox developments with interest. "Xbox needs to move faster, deepen our connection with the community, and address friction for both players and developers," Sharma said.
Windows boss Pavan Davuluri said something similar regarding the operating system earlier this year. Whether Sharma's Xbox pullback and Microsoft's quiet de-branding of Copilot in Notepad mark a broader shift is still unclear.
Microsoft has leaned hard into its Copilot identity. User reaction might give Redmond pause before it thrusts the technology onto other customers. ®