Microsoft is hard at work on an AI chatbot for Xbox, but don’t get your hopes up for a Copilot-like experience. Instead, the new Xbox chatbot will serve as a support assistant that will help with all sorts of console issues and even help provide refunds to players who bought a game they no longer want.
Is the chatbot more exciting in a world where OpenAI is creating robots that can create songs and write entire stories? Not really, but the Xbox chatbot seems useful for automating some of the support processes you need to do with Microsoft’s gaming console.
Xbox Virtual Support Agent
According to sources close to the development cited by The edge, Microsoft is testing an “embodied AI character” that will animate while answering support queries from Xbox players. It’s not going to generate a new video game out of thin air, but if your console is malfunctioning, it might be easier to ask the AI questions than to search through seemingly endless support documents for what you need to know.
In an internal Microsoft document seen by The Verge, the company said: “This agent can help you with your Xbox support questions.” It doesn’t look like the helpful AI will have a clever name. Instead, Microsoft will call it the “Xbox Support Virtual Agent.” Its name is as interesting as the robot’s overall purpose, but it conveys the message quite well.
This is not a rumor, as Microsoft confirmed that its support chatbot exists for The Verge, although the company did not say when players could expect to interact with the bot on the console of their choice.
“We’re testing an Xbox Support Virtual Agent, an internal prototype of an animated character that can query Xbox support topics with voice or text,” says Haiyan Zhang, general manager of Xbox gaming AI, in a statement. “The prototype makes it easier and faster for gamers to get help with support issues using natural language, pulling information from existing Xbox support pages.”
The bot will be able to help with issues ranging from a broken Xbox to helping resolve issues with paid subscriptions. However, if the Xbox is down, it will be difficult to use the console to interact with the bot, but after all, there are different broken levels.
Another Xbox AI
According to the report, Microsoft is also considering building AI-powered co-pilots for security and moderation tasks that could help create a more pleasant place for gamers. These co-pilots could help with content moderation, law enforcement and appeals processes.
Even further down the line, Microsoft is apparently working on adding AI-powered assistants to games, which could be a game-changer for helping players during gaming sessions.
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