Microsoft has released Copilot for iOS and iPadOS. The iPhone and iPad apps come just a couple of days after the Android version was launched.

This is not surprising, ever since ChatGPT burst on to the scene, tech companies have been vying to gain some foothold in the A.I. market rather aggressively. It could change search as we know it. Even Apple is said to be working on its own artificial intelligence system, which could debut in 2024. Apple is reportedly in talks with news publishers to license their content, in order to train its A.I.

Copilot for iOS is here with an iPad version in tow

You can converse with Copilot's chatbot just like you can do with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Copilot allows you to interact 5 times per conversation without signing in, after which you will need to start a new chat. You can type your queries, or use the microphone button to speak aloud. Signing in to your Microsoft account allows for longer conversations. It also has some other advantages. Unlike Microsoft's Bing Chat, Copilot supports image creation using text prompts. This is possible thanks to the Redmond company's partnership with Dall-E3.

Copilot for iOS supports all major A.I.-powered features to generate content like letters, mails, poems, code, etc. You can also ask it questions related to specific topics, and it presents the answers along with the sources where it obtained the data from. This includes images as well. Copilot is capable of pulling data from the web in real-time, so you can get up-to-date information when using the bot. Of course, there may be discrepancies here and there, so you will need to watch out for unverified news.

Microsoft has also partnered with OpenAI to use its LLM (language model) to provide its services to users. As you may know, the latter's ChatGPT service runs on GPT-3.5, which everyone can access for free. However, with an optional premium subscription, you gain access to GPT-4. Well, if you are not willing to pay the fee, you can use Microsoft Copilot for iOS and Android, to access GPT-4 for free. All you need to do, is toggle the button on the main screen that says GPT-4. Keep in mind that GPT-4 is a bit slower to generate responses, though it has some advanced features.

No Adblock Plus for iOS?

The Microsoft Copilot for iOS app is nearly identical to the Android version. I say nearly identical because it is missing an important feature, it does not come with Adblock Plus baked in. The ad blocker is included in the Android app (via the Privacy section), but is not available in the Copilot iOS app. This likely has to do with complying with Apple's rules. You could bypass the ads with AdGuard, or a similar ad blocker that can block ads system-wide. The rest of the Copilot app's features are on par with the Android version, you can switch the app's theme, change the language, speech language, etc.

Download Microsoft Copilot for iOS and iPadOS from the App Store. Want to access Microsoft Copilot in your web browser? Head to the official website to give it a shot.

Do you use chatbots? Have you tried Copilot?