Nearly three decades after Clippy became one of tech’s most infamous virtual assistants, Microsoft is giving the idea another go—this time with Mico, a new AI character built into Copilot’s voice mode. The company describes Mico as an animated, interactive companion designed to make conversations with its AI assistant more natural and expressive.
Mico, whose name rhymes with “pico,” represents Microsoft’s latest attempt to humanize its AI tools after past efforts like Cortana failed to gain traction. When activated in Copilot’s voice mode, Mico reacts in real time with facial expressions that match the tone of the conversation—smiling, frowning, or showing curiosity depending on user input. The feature is now being enabled by default, though users can choose to turn it off.
According to Microsoft executives, the goal is to create a more engaging interaction that feels less mechanical. Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth at Microsoft AI, said the aim is for “the technology to fade into the background,” allowing people to focus on the experience of talking to Mico rather than the AI behind it.
At launch, Mico will be available only in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. It also connects with a new memory feature in Copilot, enabling it to recall personal context such as ongoing projects or preferences. This allows conversations to feel more consistent over time—something earlier virtual assistants struggled to achieve.
A new “Learn Live” mode adds an educational layer to the system. In this setting, Mico acts as a digital tutor that guides users through topics using Socratic-style questioning, whiteboard visuals, and interactive exercises. Microsoft says the feature is aimed at students, language learners, and anyone looking to strengthen their understanding of complex concepts through dialogue rather than static answers.
The introduction of Mico also supports Microsoft’s broader push to redefine how users interact with Windows and Copilot. The company is marketing its latest Windows 11 devices as “the computer you can talk to,” signaling an effort to normalize voice-based computing—a concept it tried to establish with Cortana a decade ago. While Mico’s expressive interface and adaptive AI make it more advanced than its predecessors, Microsoft will still need to overcome the persistent hesitation many users have toward speaking directly to their devices.
Mico also carries a touch of nostalgia: Microsoft has quietly included Easter eggs referencing Clippy for those who explore its features. “We all live in Clippy’s shadow in some sense,” Andreou remarked, hinting that the playful spirit of the original paperclip assistant isn’t entirely gone—it’s just evolved into a talking orb built for the AI era.
