A new feature awaits users of Telegram, a competitor to WhatsApp, Messenger and Signal. Copilot, Microsoft’s chatbot based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model (ChatGPT), is now available as a bot in the famous instant messaging created in 2013 by the Russian Durov brothers. This integration is part of the American tech giant’s strategy to extend the accessibility of its AI assistant Copilot, which is already deployed in the Windows 11 operating system for PC and several of Microsoft’s services (Bing, Edge , Microsoft 365, etc.).
Currently in beta version and available for free, Copilot for Telegram works both on mobile and on computer. To use the conversational robot, simply search for your official account verified by a blue check mark (@CopilotOfficialBot), then initiate a conversation, as you would with any other contact. Note that the service, which does not work in the European Union, requires sharing of the telephone number. Microsoft explains that it requests this information for security reasons, with the aim of quick and unique verification of the phone number linked to the Telegram account, and ensures that it does not use it for other purposes.
Compared to other versions of Copilot, the one for Telegram is also limited to text queries. The wizard cannot indeed generate images on demand. It also only allows 30 messages per day.
This is not the first foray of a conversational chatbot into instant messaging. The Meta group, parent company of Facebook, has already deployed Meta AI in its Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram apps. Likewise, at Google, Google Messages users can use the Gemini AI on Android smartphones, recalls the specialist site The Verge.
