Microsoft launches native Mac app for Copilot

Microsoft is making its Copilot AI assistant available as a Mac app. The native macOS app will offer access to the web-based version of the Microsoft tool. It's rolling out today in the US, the UK and Canada. In practice, the apps functionalities sound pretty much identical to the experience of going to the web version of Copilot. The real distinction is that the Mac app includes a keyboard shortcut for activating the AI assistant with Command + Space and it can be viewed in dark mode.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it would make the Copilot features Voice and Think Deeper, which taps into OpenAI's o1 model, available to any users for free. Both moves seems aimed at broadening the company's audience for Copilot.

Big tech companies have a rocky history of trying to make their software available on rival hardware. Sometimes, it can take years for a service to be optimized for a different brand's exact specs. The arrival of a dedicated macOS app for Copilot, which is already out as an iPhone and iPad app, might be about as quick as Microsoft has ever brought a service to the Apple ecosystem.