Microsoft has announced that its AI assistant, Copilot, will make its full debut in Windows 11 on September 26; it has been available for Insiders since July, but will be available with a single click directly from the desktop when it rolls out next week. It will also be able to launch directly from Office, Edge, and Bing.

Announced today as part of the Surface event in New York, Copilot leverages two key AI initiatives Microsoft has been working on. As boss Satya Nadella explained, the company has developed a new natural interface and a reasoning engine that helps it understand people, places, and things.

As a result, a more streamlined experience is at the heart of Windows 11. For example, Copilot can read a text from a cell phone and write a context-sensitive reply. For example, if you receive a text from a friend and they are visiting a city and have free time, Copilot can suggest a concert or show related to a particular time and place without you having to do anything.

Similarly, the service works with Microsoft's Edge browser shopping to help recommend products. It asks questions to determine your skill level (for example, if you are looking for the best running shoes) and displays relevant reviews and buying guides.

Naturally, Copilot is coming to Microsoft 365 a little later, on November 1, and its addition to Microsoft's software suite will bring a variety of features.

For example, Copilot can summarize what's in a document and what's most important, or search the web in real time to fact-check data contained in a presentation. Similarly, if you miss a team meeting, Copilot can bring you up to speed and let you know what you need to do. And if you want to be more specific, it can recommend the best date and speaker for the event based on the availability of people on the team.

On the design side, the designer feature allows you to remove elements from photos you have taken or found on the web.

As anyone who has used Windows knows, this is not Microsoft's first attempt at an AI assistant; Cortana was the company's early bet, but it didn't work out, and the company has since moved on to Cortana. Perhaps Copilot can succeed where Cortana failed.

One thing is for sure, you won't miss Copilot's integration: Microsoft has placed Copilot as an icon right next to the Windows 11 search bar on the desktop. While you're using Copilot, you'll see it throughout your apps and windows. It appears beside you as a consistent sidebar.

For more news to be announced from today's Surface event, check out our live blog here.