Microsoft reveals bouncy new AI companion for Windows 11 - Mico - and almost everyone groans

Clippy is back! Well, no, the much-maligned assistant isn't, but a new Windows 11 take on a long line of desktop-based helpers has been revealed by Microsoft: it's called Mico.

Mico is part of Copilot in Windows 11 - the name is a contraction of Microsoft Copilot, as in Mi-Co - and the idea is to have a more humanlike assistant in said long line of helpers (from Rover the Dog of Microsoft Bob fame, through to Clippy, then Cortana in more modern times).

It is, if you like, a face for Copilot. As Microsoft explains: "The new Mico character is expressive, customizable, and warm. This optional visual presence listens, reacts, and even changes colors to reflect your interactions, making voice conversations feel more natural. Mico shows support through animation and expressions, creating a friendly and engaging experience."

• Read more: Windows Classic Remastered concept is a mashup of Windows 95 and Windows 11, plus an AI Clippy
• Read more: Copilot Vision is a new AI assistant that also sees everything on your Windows 11 display
• Read more: Paranoid about AI? You won't like new Windows 11 feature that lets Copilot peer at your desktop

As noted, it's quite animated, and as you can see in the demo clip Microsoft shared on YouTube, it does a fair bit of color changing to reflect your mood. Oddly, that short video has no sound, which leaves it all feeling more than a bit eerie.

Hardened Windows 11 users are going to immediately balk and generally despair at the idea of the presence of a friendly blob-like thing on their desktop, of course, but Microsoft isn't aiming this at more techie types like you and me. It's more the average consumer, or moreover, those who are perhaps a bit scared of computers - or the idea of AI - where a friendly animation might help to soothe their nerves to some extent.

Mico is enabled automatically in Copilot's voice command mode, The Verge reports, but you can turn off the animated blob, of course.

Initially, this will be for the US only before a wider rollout to other countries. It's all part of Microsoft's major push with AI and voice, and this will be a key element in terms of getting people to talk to their PC, towards the end of replacing traditional mouse and keyboard controls with voice commands. Or at least that's Microsoft's grand vision, anyway.

Other noteworthy points include Mico remembering things about you (based on Copilot's memory feature), and what you've been doing on your PC, all of which should make for a more natural and human interaction with the assistant (with a price to pay in terms of privacy). A 'learn live' mode will offer guided help from Mico, too, complete with the likes of interactive whiteboards, The Verge reports tell us.

Again, this kind of in-depth AI-based help is what we're also getting in Windows 11 with Copilot Vision, which can, for example, give you instructions on how to use an app you're attempting to get to grips with (analyzing the contents of your desktop to do so).

The more Microsoft pushes Windows 11 and AI in these kinds of ways, though, the more privacy conscious are likely to push back.