At a packed event at its Redmond campus, former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer joined current CEO Satya Nadella and AI chief Mustafa Suleyman to reflect on the company’s journey and what lies ahead. Along with Solitaire throwbacks and a nod to the old Windows 95 logo, the focus was very clearly on the future—an AI-led one powered by Copilot.

It’s been 50 years since Bill Gates and Paul Allen kickstarted Microsoft with a simple dream—to build tech that helps people build more tech. From writing BASIC code for Altair to putting a PC in every home, the company’s journey has been anything but ordinary. On Friday, Microsoft marked this milestone with a mix of nostalgia and ambition, showing that it’s not done yet—not even close.

A new Copilot, not just for work, but for life

Microsoft wants to make Copilot more than just a productivity tool—it wants to make it personal. During the keynote, Mustafa Suleyman introduced new updates aimed at turning Copilot into a full-fledged AI companion.

“Today, we’re creating a Copilot for everyone,” Suleyman said. “With your permission, Copilot will now remember what you talk about, so it learns your likes and dislikes and details about your life: the name of your dog, that tricky project at work, what keeps you motivated to stick to your new workout routine.”

Satya Nadella, looking back on Microsoft’s roots, said, “Fifty years ago, Bill and Paul started Microsoft with a simple but powerful idea: to build technology so people everywhere could build more technology.” But what grabbed everyone’s attention was how quickly he shifted gears to the present. “We are leading this new wave of AI innovation and more importantly, democratizing it, just like we did with the PC,” Nadella told the audience.

In short, it’s not just remembering what you said—it’s trying to remember who you are.

Microsoft wants your Copilot to have a face

Microsoft is experimenting with animated avatars for Copilot, giving it a face and personality. These avatars could be fully customisable and potentially resemble anything from a dragon to, yes, even Clippy. It’s not clear when this will roll out, but the idea is to make the interaction more human-like and fun.

If you’ve been around since the early 2000s, you might remember Clippy—the animated paperclip that tried (and failed) to help you format Word documents. Well, Clippy’s back. Sort of.

Suleyman teased this during the livestream, jokingly bringing Clippy on stage. “We’re early in this thinking but soon you’ll have the ability to personalize Copilot and interact with your AI companion in a fun way,” he said.

Copilot Vision: Your phone camera becomes a digital eye

Copilot is now not just in your apps—it’s in your surroundings too. One of the more striking announcements was Copilot Vision, which turns your phone camera into a real-time interface with the world.

“With our new mobile app, Copilot can actually see what you see and talk to you about it in real time,” said Suleyman.

For example, you can show your plant to Copilot and ask if it’s healthy, or point at a restaurant and ask if it’s worth visiting. The same idea is coming to Windows PCs as well, where Copilot will be able to “see” your screen, understand what’s on it, and help without switching between apps.

New tools for developers, shoppers, and researchers

Researcher and Analyst for Microsoft 365: Researcher helps users with “complex, multi-step research at work,” while Analyst uses the OpenAI-powered o9-mini model to study existing data and give insights, forecasts, or visual summaries.

It’s not just personal users getting upgrades. Microsoft rolled out several features for enterprise and developer audiences:

Agent Mode for Visual Studio Code: “You really know you’re on to something. Intelligence has been commoditized when CEOs can start vibe coding,” Nadella joked, adding that the feature is available for all users starting today. This lets developers build custom agents, get AI code reviews, and more.

Deep Research: A feature that combines data from across documents, sites, and images to answer big, layered questions without the back-and-forth Google dance.

Shopping with Copilot: Find deals, get alerts on price drops, and even purchase products directly from the app. Copilot is working with platforms like Skyscanner, Booking.com, and OpenTable.

Podcasts: Copilot can now generate audio shows on the fly using your interests or reading material you give it. Think of it like your own personal news show, minus the scrolling.

New: Pages, Memory, Actions

Microsoft also introduced a few quiet but meaningful updates:

Memory: This one is going to raise eyebrows. Copilot can now remember birthdays, preferences, even how you greet others—formally or informally. And while that’s helpful, it’s also where things get tricky. Microsoft insists you can control what it remembers and delete that memory at any time.

Pages: A feature that helps you gather notes, thoughts, research, and more into one place. It’s like a personal digital canvas that Copilot helps organize.

Actions: With simple text prompts, Copilot can now book tickets, make dinner reservations, or send gifts—without needing you to visit multiple websites. This could be especially handy in a time-crunched world.

The road ahead: same mission, new tools

In Satya Nadella’s words, “Our future will not be defined by what we have built, but what we empower others to build.”

It’s a familiar Microsoft idea—put the tools in people’s hands, let them shape what comes next. Whether Copilot becomes your daily assistant or just another app on your desktop will depend on how well Microsoft can balance usefulness with trust.

The old dream was to put a PC on every desk. The new one? To make AI personal—and possibly, wearable, talkable, and even drawable.

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