New Copilot Fully Integrated Into Windows 11; GM Sued for Selling Driver Data; Microsoft to Shut Down Skype, What About Excel?… and more!
Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Microsoft revamps the Copilot app for Windows 11, makes it truly native
With this redesign of Copilot, the AI app no longer relies on web components. It’s fully native to the Windows 11 operating system.
Microsoft has once again made changes to Copilot, with the new version now being delivered to Windows 11 Insiders. The redesign is meant to rethink the experience from the ground up, and that means Copilot is now a native app that’s directly integrated into the operating system.
According to Windows Latest, initial testers say the new Copilot Windows 11 app works even better than the ChatGPT desktop app. This is mainly due to the fact that Copilot works and responds with almost no delays and requires much less memory.
What is the new Copilot app?
Microsoft has redeveloped the Copilot app from scratch, utilizing Windows technologies like XAML and WinUI. The app is integrated directly into Windows 11, making it even easier to use. (Previously, it was hidden in the sidebar or could only be used as a web app.)
With native integration, Copilot now has its own controls, a taskbar icon, and a picture-in-picture mode. The Copilot app can also generate answers much faster while only using 50 to 100 MB of RAM on average.
With the new sidebar, you can quickly start a new conversation with the AI chatbot and immediately get answers from the app.
Better integration with Windows 11.
Thanks to native Windows 11 integration….
GM sued for selling driver data to insurers
In a new lawsuit, the Arkansas Attorney General alleges deceptive practices by GM and OnStar.
General Motors is facing yet another legal battle over its data collection practices. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has sued GM and its subsidiary OnStar, alleging the automaker illegally sold driver data to third parties, who then provided it to insurers. The lawsuit accuses GM of deceiving consumers and profiting at their expense by allowing insurers to use this data to raise premiums or deny coverage.
A pattern of data selling
The lawsuit, filed in late February, claims GM has been selling driver data since 2015 through connected vehicle systems like myChevrolet, myCadillac, myGMC, and myBuick. Unlike traditional insurance telematics programs that require users to opt in by installing a device, GM allegedly collected this data without explicit consent…
What’s to Stop Microsoft From Shutting Down Excel?
Microsoft’s decision to shut down Skype marks the end of a service that once revolutionized digital communication. Purchased for $8.5 billion, Skype was the gold standard for video calls before being overtaken by Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp.
Now, Microsoft is pulling the plug, citing a shift in consumer habits and the dominance of Microsoft Teams.
For longtime Skype users, the move is more than a minor inconvenience—it’s a stark reminder that even the most widely recognized tech services can disappear overnight. If Microsoft can discard Skype after years of brand recognition and global adoption, what’s to stop it from eventually doing the same to Excel…
Google previews AI Mode for search, taking on the likes of ChatGPT search and Perplexity
Google is doubling down on bring AI to Search with an expansion to its AI Overviews and new experimental AI Mode. In Google’s ideal world, you would basically never leave the search engine and it would handle a lot of that pesky thinking on your behalf. On the other hand, there would be fewer open tabs giving you anxiety.
Overviewing AI
AI Overviews have already become a familiar sight for many users, appearing at the top of search results with neatly summarized answers to big questions. Now, with Gemini 2.0 behind the wheel, Google claims these overviews will be faster, more detailed, and capable of handling trickier queries in areas like coding, advanced math, and multimodal reasoning. In other words, if you were relying on Reddit and Stack Overflow to explain why your Python script keeps throwing an error, Google wants you to ask it instead.
Google claims there are a lot of fans who want to see AI even more embedded in their online searches. That’s what led to the creation of AI Mode. Currently in an experimental mode in Labs. AI Mode aims to bring better reasoning and more immediate analysis to your online time. AI Mode won’t just spit out a quick answer to your query. It will actively break down complex topics, compare multiple options, and pull from online sources to provide more nuanced responses. AI Mode should help prevent you from going from a simple search for a new toothpaste to spending 30 minutes on Wikipedia learning about the history of medieval dentistry…
Microsoft tries another ugly trick to attract users, this time for Copilot
It appears Microsoft is once again playing dirty tricks to attract users to their own services. Earlier this year, they tried disguising Bing as Google to trick searchers, and now Neowin reports that they’re running a similar ploy for its Copilot AI chatbot assistant.
According to Neowin, if you search for an AI chatbot in the Bing search engine — including popular alternatives like ChatGPT and Gemini — you’ll see a special box with Microsoft’s own Copilot AI above the search results you’re expecting. If you actually submit a message in the box, then Copilot fully opens in a new tab.
If you search for AI chatbots in Bing, you might see this desperate attempt to get you using Copilot instead.
We gave it a try and were able to replicate it. Typing “chatgpt” into Bing gave us a special Copilot element in the search results, labeled as “Your AI companion” with a field to “Message Copilot.”
It’s possible that Microsoft is only running this trick in certain regions…
Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.
