Microsoft AI CEO envisions Copilot with a lasting digital identity that 'ages' and 'lives in a room'

Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI chief, has shared his vision for Copilot, describing it as an AI assistant that will develop a “permanent identity” and “age” over time. In an interview on The Colin & Samir Show, Suleyman emphasized that future versions of Copilot will have a more personalized and evolving presence, including a dedicated “room” where it operates. He described this as part of a broader effort to give the AI a sense of history and familiarity, something he believes is missing in the digital world. “I’m really interested in this idea of digital patina,” Suleyman said. “The things I love in my world are the things that are a little bit worn or rubbed down, and have scuff marks. Unfortunately, in the digital world we don’t have a sense of age.” A key part of this vision is the new Copilot Appearance feature, which Microsoft has begun previewing. This tool introduces a virtual character that interacts with users in real time, using expressions, voice, and conversational memory to create a more engaging and human-like experience. The feature, which allows Copilot to smile, nod, and react to conversations, is currently in early access through Microsoft Copilot Labs and is available to a limited group of users in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Suleyman first showcased Copilot Appearance during Microsoft’s 50th-anniversary event earlier this year. The feature builds on Microsoft’s ongoing push to make Copilot more personal and interactive, drawing comparisons to how Cortana used to function with animated responses. The company sees this as a step toward creating a more immersive and tailored AI experience. Suleyman, who co-founded Google DeepMind before joining Microsoft over a year ago, has been focused on reshaping the company’s consumer-facing AI products, including Copilot, Bing, and Edge. His work has led to a major redesign of Copilot, incorporating voice and vision capabilities. This effort mirrors his previous work on Pi, the personalized AI chatbot he developed at Inflection AI, where much of the team later joined Microsoft. Beyond appearance, Suleyman also hinted at future directions for Microsoft’s AI strategy. He expressed frustration with the current state of the Windows desktop, calling it “noisy” and “neon,” and described it as a “billboard” that distracts users. He envisions a “quieter, simpler, optimized working environment” and is considering how to improve the user experience in the future. This could point to potential updates for the Copilot app on Windows or even more significant changes with the upcoming Copilot Plus PCs, which are expected to integrate AI more deeply into the hardware. Suleyman also shared how he has customized his own phone interface to reduce distractions, using a black-and-white theme and minimizing app visibility to create a more focused workspace.