On October 31, Microsoft announced the launch of a new version of the Windows 11 operating system "23H2" to IT professionals, the new version contains Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot。

According to the official website, the new features of the "23H2" version include enhanced Windows firewall function and screenshot function, new volume mixer, new storage volume Dev Drive and more。Of course, the AI assistant Copilot has attracted the most attention.。

Copilot is similar to ChatGPT and is a generative artificial intelligence。Users can get the corresponding text or other content to answer by talking to the AI assistant and issuing instructions.。PC-specific features in Copilot include opening apps, switching to dark mode, turning on Bluetooth, getting instructions on taking screenshots, and more。Let Copilot provide a summary of the page's content when users view the site in the Edge browser。

Users can have text conversations with Copilot by clicking the new Copilot icon in the taskbar or pressing the Windows + C keyboard shortcut。Copilot is still in preview and is only available in North America and parts of Asia and South America.。Microsoft hopes to expand the feature to more regions in the future。

Copilot is much more powerful than the previous generation of smart assistant Cortana, which Microsoft launched in 2015 when it launched Windows 10, but has now been phased out.。

According to StatCounter, Windows 11, which launched in 2021, currently accounts for about 24% of desktop PC usage, while Windows 10 accounts for nearly 72%。However, Windows 10 will be "retired" in October 2025, and Windows 11 may become more popular in the future.。

During the third quarter earnings call last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: "We have seen companies like BP, Eurowings, Kantar and RBC accelerate the deployment of Windows 11 globally.。"

Windows is still important to Microsoft, accounting for a tenth of the company's total revenue.。Microsoft wants to keep Windows "sticky" because it is the foundation for Microsoft 365 productivity applications and a springboard for Azure public cloud growth。

Back in May of this year, Microsoft introduced Copilot to the outside world at its Global Developers Conference and said it would follow up with products and services such as Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform.。Subsequently, hundreds of organizations began using Copilot's paid experience version.。From November 1, Copilot will be open to all users.。According to the pricing announced by Microsoft in July, Copilot charges users $30 a month.。At present, Microsoft has not disclosed the news of price adjustment.。

It may take time for Microsoft to turn Microsoft 365 Copilot into a big business。Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, said in July that AI services revenue will grow as businesses adopt Azure features and commercialize products such as Copilot.。Hood said Microsoft's current fiscal year 2024 will end in June 2024, and the financial impact will be felt mainly in the second half of fiscal year 2024.。

Bernstein Research analyst Mark Moerdler said: "We do expect the product to bring in some revenue in the months following launch, but we expect real meaningful revenue opportunities to emerge in fiscal 2025.。"

The day before the official launch of Copilot, Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin wrote in a note to clients: "We view the upcoming M365 Copilot as Microsoft's' iPhone Moment 'and part of Microsoft's broader strategy to leverage the first-mover advantage of generative AI.。"

According to Bracelin's forecast, artificial intelligence will add about $10 billion to Microsoft's revenue by 2025, and in the future, the increase in revenue can reach hundreds of billions of dollars.。

In addition, Microsoft has been developing assistants for its Fabric data analytics software, Dynamics sales and customer service software, Bing search engine and Windows 11 operating system, which may later become part of Microsoft's AI business landscape.。