Microsoft introduces Mico avatar for Copilot in Fall Release

Microsoft introduced Mico, an animated, customizable avatar for its Copilot assistant, as part of its Copilot Fall Release announced this week. The new visual persona is designed to appear in Copilot’s voice mode and to make spoken interactions feel more natural; it will be available initially in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and users can disable it if they prefer a nonvisual assistant.

Mico is a small, bloblike character that listens, reacts and alters its color and animation to mirror user interactions. Microsoft said the avatar is optional and part of a broader push toward what the company calls human centered AI, an effort it describes as focused on utility and trust rather than maximizing engagement. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, said the company is building “AI that gets you back to your life. That deepens human connection. That earns your trust,” framing the updates as aimed at usefulness and safety.

Users also discovered an Easter egg that briefly transforms Mico into Clippy, the paperclip-shaped assistant Microsoft introduced in Office 97 and retired in 2007. Clippy’s reappearance is temporary and activated when the avatar is tapped...