Copilot for Gaming is a new 'AI-driven sidekick' and companion for Xbox gamers

Microsoft describes Copilot for Gaming as an "AI-driven sidekick" designed to be your "personalized gaming companion" that will offer Xbox support, recommend games, install them for you, and even show up in-game to provide advice and tips. Microsoft notes, "Xbox Insiders can get an early preview of Copilot for Gaming on mobile soon."

Microsoft's Copilot for Gaming demonstrations are 'product concepts only.'

In a recent episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Xbox Corporate Vice President of Gaming AI Fatima Kardar, joined by Vice President of Next Generation Jason Ronald, formally introduced Copilot for Gaming and showcased concept videos of it in action in Overwatch 2 and Minecraft.

The demos show an unnamed player communicating with Copilot for Gaming using natural language. In Overwatch 2, the AI answers questions about what hero to choose, provides breakdowns of recent play, and gives advice based on historical data that includes the player's skill and abilities. As a proof of concept, it's an interesting demonstration however having the player talk to AI instead of their teammates is a little weird.

In Minecraft, we see how interacting with Copilot for Gaming might look for a new player. The AI answers questions on what to do and where to go based on its knowledge of the game, its settings, and what's happening on screen. Check it out in the video above.

"Copilot for Gaming is built on three principles: capability, adaptability, and personalization," Jeff Rubenstein, Director of Xbox Editorial writes in the Xbox Wire post. "It is designed to assist players in various ways, from personalized game recommendations and seamless game setup, to helpful coaching and maintaining connections with friends."

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AI assistants for gaming is a relatively new thing. With Copilot for Gaming, the most prominent players in the industry are actively developing tools to help gamers with their systems, game libraries, and in-game walkthrough-style help. NVIDIA is currently working on Project G-Assist which shares many similarities with Copilot for Gaming. At the same time, AMD has recently integrated AI chat and support into its Adrenalin Software for Radeon gamers that have purchased a new RDNA 4 GPU with advanced capabilities.

With Copilot for Gaming coming to mobile-first, the assumption is that it will be a cloud-based approach that will become part of the Xbox App. It'll be interesting to see how it gets integrated into the console space, specifically with the Xbox Series X|S consoles.