At a special event held at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft unveiled major updates to its AI assistant, Copilot, designed to enhance the user experience across Windows and smartphones. The highlight, Copilot Vision, enables the AI to visually analyse the real world through smartphone cameras and to actively interact with Windows screens--navigating seamlessly between apps, tabs and files. This functionality allows users to receive contextual insights and manage tasks more efficiently using voice or text commands.
In addition, Copilot Actions simplifies task completion by integrating with partner platforms like Opentable and Expedia, reducing the need for manual input. These enhancements position Copilot as a smarter, more intuitive digital companion for everyday use.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared his thoughts on this important milestone, expressing mixed feelings. He recalled the company’s humble beginnings and released the original Altair Basic source code to commemorate the occasion. such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and the Windows operating system.
However, Microsoft’s gaze is firmly fixed on the future. CEO Satya Nadella reminded the audience that it’s not just about the past 50 years, but the next 50--and that the key lesson from his time at Microsoft isn’t longevity, but relevance. “Our future won’t be defined by what we’ve built,” he said, “but by what we enable others to build.”
This vision underpins Microsoft’s massive investment in artificial intelligence, with a mission to “democratise it, just as we did with the PC.” A prime example is Github Copilot, which has evolved from simple code completions into a tool with autonomous agent capabilities. “Over 150m developers in nearly every country in the world use Github,” Nadella noted. He even demonstrated how to recreate Microsoft’s first-ever product using Copilot, joking: “Intelligence has been commoditised when CEOs can start coding on instinct.” Then more seriously: “It’s not just a fun gadget. It’s transformational. It’s empowering. It’s unleashing human ambition--and it’s happening now.”
New capabilities such as Agent Mode in VS Code, the Code Review Agent for automated debugging, and Foundry--an “agent factory”-- reflect Microsoft’s deep commitment to developers.
Mustafa Suleyman then took the stage, expressing his honour at celebrating this milestone alongside Microsoft’s former CEOs. “There is nothing inevitable about the future,” he said. “It must be built. And at Microsoft, that’s what we’ve been doing for 50 years.” He shifted the focus to AI’s transformative power for everyone, asking: “What is an AI companion? What will it do?”
He highlighted how Copilot is already helping users in tangible ways--bringing “calm and clarity” to daily life. Several new features were unveiled:
—Copilot Deep Research for travel planning and deep learning, Copilot Pages for real-time document collaboration, and extended Copilot Vision on Windows and mobile for more intuitive, contextual interactions. “Your browser and PC are literally working for you,” Suleyman said. “Just tell Copilot what you see on your screen, and we’ll help you get it done. What an experience! I believe this will completely change the way we use computers--forever.”
—For professionals, new researcher and analyst agents in M365 Copilot, along with custom agent creation in Copilot Studio, promise nothing short of a productivity revolution.
As Satya Nadella concluded: “Today, we’re creating Copilot for everyone.” It’s a clear signal that Microsoft is entering a bold new chapter--for itself, and for technology as a whole.
This article was originally published in .