Microsoft has unveiled Mico, a new AI assistant that brings a friendly and interactive touch to its Copilot platform. Inspired by the nostalgic charm of Clippy, Mico combines advanced artificial intelligence with personality, voice interaction, and learning features. Designed to make communication with Artificial Intelligence (AI) more natural and engaging, Mico represents Microsoft’s latest step toward creating assistants that understand, respond, and even challenge users in meaningful ways.
Microsoft aims to offer users a more welcoming, interactive, and educational AI experience with Mico, a new character added to Copilot’s voice mode.
Microsoft’s fondness for intelligent assistants has been evident many times over the years. Beginning with the paperclip-shaped Clippy in the ’90s, Microsoft’s journey with assistants eventually led to Cortana on Windows Phone — and now, the company has introduced Mico.
Mico, the new customizable and friendly face of Copilot’s voice mode, stands out with its approachable demeanor. It listens, responds, and changes color in reaction to user interactions.
Furthermore, Mico aims to overcome the overly agreeable nature of AI by truly listening to and supporting users. As Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman noted in a blog post, Mico will sometimes disagree with you — but always respectfully. The company is also working to enhance Copilot’s personality and tone with a new mode called “Real Talk.”
This mode will allow the AI to mirror the user’s speaking style while still offering its own perspective. In other words, Mico will challenge your ideas rather than simply accepting or reinforcing them, encouraging you to approach situations from a different point of view.
It’s worth noting that Mico is also part of Copilot’s new feature, Learn Live. In this student-focused voice mode, Mico takes on the role of a teacher — explaining concepts and guiding learners instead of merely providing answers. In this sense, Mico adopts a Socratic-style approach, using questions, visual cues, and interactive whiteboards to engage users.
Currently, Mico is only available in the US, UK, and Canada, and it’s enabled by default in Copilot’s voice mode. Users can also choose to disable it. It’s fair to say that Mico is part of Microsoft’s broader effort to give Copilot a distinct identity. While Mico is certainly far more capable than Clippy or Cortana, convincing people to talk to their PCs or phones may take some time.
Meanwhile, similar AI applications already exist. ChatGPT offers a visual experience with multiple voice options, and xAI has begun creating AI companions through Grok’s technology. AI companion apps are also being downloaded by millions in app stores. However, how users will respond to Mico remains to be seen.
