Microsoft Copilot can be your default assistant on Android

What you need to know

• A new Microsoft Copilot beta update on Android lets users set the AI as their new default assistant instead of Google's.
• Users can activate Copilot by "swiping diagonally" from the corner of their display or by long-pressing the power button.
• Testing Copilot showed users are still tossed into its main view instead of interacting with a seamless pop-up view like Google's Assistant.

Microsoft is pushing a new update today for its AI assistant, Copilot, that enables the program to become your new default helper.

As spotted by Mishaal Rahman on X, the latest Copilot beta version, 27.9.420225014, brings the AI to the "default digital assistant" list on Android (via Android Police). Through this, users can say "goodbye" to Google's Assistant if they favor Microsoft's digital helper more.

With Copilot selected, Android gives users a quick security pop-up, highlighting its ability to "read information about apps in use on your system."

If accepted, users can initiate Copilot anywhere on their device by "swiping diagonally" from the corner of their device or by long-pressing the power button. Unfortunately, Rahman adds that Microsoft didn't implement Copilot into Android in a way that would help unleash its full potential.

It was discovered that calling Copilot forward doesn't bring up a simple floating UI. Instead, users are thrown into the main Copilot app. Moreover, the AI reportedly doesn't "automatically listen" to your input, nor does it use an API that would enable it to capture screenshots of your device.

It's worth remembering that Copilot's "default" appearance is wrapped in its beta. As Rahman states, this could be indicative that Microsoft is still working on ways to make the AI a little more seamless when activated.

Microsoft's Copilot launched on Android early in January and was stated to piggyback off OpenAI's GPT-4 language model. ChatGPT has also been rumored to be arriving as a new default assistant to replace Google's AI. The latest version of the app back in January contained code that teased the ability for users to use their voice or "other ways" to trigger it.

Those using the stable version of Copilot on Android were treated to a few updates earlier in February. Microsoft pushed a cleaner, sleek design for those on mobile and the web, which cleaned up its UI for a more engaging experience. Copilot also gained a new AI feature dubbed "Designer," which lets users "create and edit" photos through OpenAI's DALL-E model.