It’s clear that Microsoft thinks Copilot is here to stay.
Theyre so confident that theyve added an entire button for it on Copilot+ PCs.
However, many PC users of that generation dont have such fond memories of Clippy.
It was so disliked that Time magazine even labeled it one of the 50 worst inventions of all time.
At the time, few people owned computers and even fewer knew how to use them.
Clippy debuted in Microsoft Office 97 and gave tips to help new users familiarize themselves with the software.
Unfortunately for them, Clippy just didn’t care.
Said AI would eventually become antagonistic and work against the player in a subsequent installment of the game.
Right out of the gate, Cortana faced some steep challenges.
It also didn’t help that Cortana just wasn’t a very good assistant.
These challenges meant that Cortana struggled to amass a sizable user base.
Microsoft has since moved on from Clippy and Cortana.
Now Copilot is the new kid on the block, and hes got all the coolest AI toys.
But that wont mean anything if Microsoft doesn’t fix the mistakes it made with its earlier assistants.
No, Clippy, I would not in fact like help.
What I would like is for you to leave me alone!
Cortana was much the same.
It held the search bar hostage, and there was no simple way to disable it.
Microsoft even baked Cortana into the setup process for new PCs so she was impossible to escape.
No one likes a backseat driver.
Maybe start by freeing up the taskbar real estate Copilot has claimed for itself.
Now were all about saving time and delegating grunt work to improve efficiency.
Use all that data you’ve collected about me and make my life a little easier.
It’s the least you could do.
Copilot, Respect My Boundaries
Microsoft has a spotty record when it comes to respecting user privacy.
Copilot cannot operate the same way.
Im not sure that I can boast the same about Copilot.
So far, using Copilot has been a pretty average experience.
It’s still in preview, so I’m willing to reserve judgment.
