"Windows Intelligence": Microsoft may drop Copilot in major AI rebranding

[Alfonso Maruccia]

A hot potato: Microsoft is apparently prepping a significant rebranding effort for the AI-based features introduced in recent Windows versions. The company is once again looking at Apple as a potential business model, though things are quite different from the past.

Copilot's chatbot service, Windows Recall, and other AI-related functionalities could soon become known simply as "Windows Intelligence." According to a recently surfaced reference included in a template file for the Group Policy Object Editor (AppPrivacy.adml), Windows Intelligence is the umbrella term Microsoft possibly chose to unify the many AI features currently being integrated into the PC operating system.

Even though putting a trademark on a generic term isn't exactly a viable way of doing business, the first company to infuse some marketing "intelligence" into its products was Apple. Cupertino debuted the Apple Intelligence service in October, with new chatbot-based functionalities available (in preview form) on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS platforms.

If the Windows Intelligence reference proves to be true, Microsoft may soon decide to abandon the Copilot name after using it for over a year. The Windows Intelligence moniker feels like a blatant attempt to mimic Apple's marketing decision, grouping all the AI-based options available in Windows under the new brand.

Let Apps Access Windows Intelligence pic.twitter.com/gbyU4JdmG5

– https://tero.bsky.social �'��'� (@teroalhonen) October 18, 2024

Microsoft had used the "Intelligence" term before, but the company was talking about security upgrades and not AI features back then. The rebranding effort is already being criticized on X, with Windows users accusing Microsoft of "killing" the operating system by copying everything Apple is doing.

Brand and trademark decisions aside, Microsoft is more than willing to shower its AI-fueled initiatives with billions of dollars for the foreseeable future. Big Tech organizations are expected to spend $200 billion on AI development by the end of the year, though Wall Street investors are starting to express their concerns with this unprecedented bet on the future of AI.

Microsoft is clearly enthusiastic about AI, but the new features still need a lot of work before becoming an integral part of the Windows ecosystem. Windows Recall, the controversial spying machine designed to record everything a user is doing on their PC, was initially met with a lot of negative feedback. The feature is currently back in preview form as part of the Windows 11 24H2 Update, requires secure access through Windows Hello, and includes a new filter to (hopefully) leave sensitive information out of its intrusive AI tech.

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"Windows Intelligence": Microsoft may drop Copilot in major AI rebranding

 

[VemigoAmigo]

AI = Apple Intelligence was very clever.

WI does not really seem that smart in comparison.

 

[stewi0001]

WI does not really seem that smart in comparison.

Add one more "I" and Nintendo's legal team will flip out

 

[jwdR311]

Only one question...how do I turn it off?

 

[yRaz]

But what about all the copilot buttons on new laptops?

That's gonna be a funny tech relic.

I'm not saying AI can't be useful. I use it frequently to edit job reports and work orders and help me refine ideas.

My problem is the whole "AI everywhere, all the time" thing going on in the industry.

 

[winjer]

Microsoft should cancel and remove Copilot and Recall.
Windows doesn't need even more useless bloat and spyware.

 

[airbornex]

If they actually go with ‘Windows Intelligence,’ it’s like Microsoft is looking at Apple and saying, ‘Whatever you can do, we can… also do, but maybe with more telemetry.’ I guess the real question is: will ‘Windows Intelligence’ feel intelligent enough, or just like another layer of Microsoft branding?

On the upside though, MS is using superior GPT/OpenAI tech, so maybe this is one way to win over Apple's lesser AI tech in the shorter term.

 

[m4a4]

Alfonso, +1 for that thumbnail lol

 

[trparky]

Windows Intelligence? That's like Military Intelligence, two words that should never be used in the same sentence.

 

[Debido666]

I setup some new MacBook M3's and some Surface Laptops. They look mostly the same. Even the emblem on the top. How is Apple not taking them to court?

 

[Northy]

Microsoft is failing to see that for the vast majority of users AI has little to no application. They want to go online, check their email and social media, do shopping and banking... maybe play some games too. AI can't help. Clippy got in the way of this, so did Cortana, Copilot isn't being adopted at any price. They really don't want to accept that they can't get in the middle of people's workflow, because they myopically don't realise that most people aren't working on their computers and the ones that are have their own task specific processes already.

I wonder if anyone at MS has thought to use AI to figure this out.