Copilot for Xbox starts to roll out – just don't expect it to cheat for you

Microsoft has announced that Copilot for Gaming is making its way to Xbox. It’s starting with a beta testing phase and for now it’s only available in the Xbox app on your mobile device.

Copilot for Gaming is an AI-powered chatbot with a focus on gaming. Microsoft describes it as “the ultimate gaming sidekick”, able to assist you in games by answering questions you might have while also being a mine of information about other games.

The tech is also linked into everything you’ve done on Xbox, so it will be able to tell you about your achievements, play history or anything else related to your account.

Think of Copilot like your best friend who you normally talk to about games, but in AI form and loitering on your phone. Because Copilot is baked into the Xbox app, it will know what you’re playing, so can then provide relevant information.

Microsoft says that this information comes from your activity, as well as information that’s available through Bing for the responses. In the future this will evolve to add more personalisation and things like coaching, but for now, it’s basically an AI that searches Bing for you.

Microsoft suggests some examples of what you might ask, including account and activity related questions like:

• What’s my gamerscore and can you give me some tips to raise it?
• What was the last achievement I got in Starfield?
• When does my Game Pass subscription renew?

These draw on your personal activity data on Xbox, so the answers will be unique to Copilot. However, Microsoft also suggested these game-related questions:

• Hey Copilot, can you remind me what materials I need to craft a sword in Minecraft?
• [While playing South of Midnight] I’m stuck on Rougarou right now. Can you give me some tips on how to beat this boss?
• I’m looking for a new RPG. Can you recommend something that came out on Xbox recently?
• Hey Copilot, what’s the rarest achievement you can get in Avowed?

These are more generic in nature and seem to draw results from the public domain. It’s here that the Copilot for Gaming offering is perhaps a little less useful. I asked Gemini these questions and got detailed answers for them, so this offering is hardly unique.

The idea is that this isn’t a distraction from your gaming, because it’s running on a second screen, rather than you talking directly to your Xbox at the moment.

How to get Copilot for Gaming

To get access to the Copilot for Gaming (beta), you’ll need to be running the beta version of the Xbox app. That’s available in English for those in select regions, including the US, Australia and a wide range of countries in South America, Asia and eastern Europe.

What seems to be missing is any Western European country at the moment. The full list is here and more regions will be added in the future.

If you’re an Android user you can download the Xbox beta app here. If you’re on iOS and don’t have the Xbox beta app already, Microsoft says you’ll be able to test it through the Game Bar on Windows, with wider availability coming soon.

If you have the Xbox app beta, you’ll be invited to provide feedback on features, to help with its development.