‘Draft with Copilot’ is a relatively new AI-powered feature in Microsoft Edge, marking one of the initial ways Microsoft has integrated its Copilot AI assistant into the web browser. This feature is on the brink of receiving a minor but significant upgrade.
A well-known browser expert, Leopeva64, shared on X (formerly Twitter) some screenshots and GIFs showcasing the latest functionality in the Edge Canary preview build.
As the name suggests, ‘Draft with Copilot’ uses AI to help you create text. The new upgrade allows you to access this feature by right-clicking on an empty text field in Edge. When you choose ‘Draft with Copilot,’ a window opens where you can input the subject you want the AI to write about. After clicking ‘Generate,’ Copilot will produce a draft on your chosen topic. You can then adjust the tone and length of the text to suit your needs or experiment with different modifications.
Currently, this feature supports only US English in the Edge browser, but it’s expected to expand to other languages over time.
An interesting aspect noted by Leopeva64 is that if you right-click on a text field that already contains text, the ‘Draft with Copilot’ option is not available. This might be intentional, as drafting from scratch would not be necessary if text is already present. However, this could change as the feature is further developed.
According to MS Power User, this concept is similar to Google Chrome’s ‘Help Me Write’ feature. Microsoft has previously detailed Copilot’s capabilities, highlighting how it can “quickly generate well-written text to use as input in text boxes,” saving users time and ensuring grammatical accuracy. This is particularly useful for those using apps in a non-native language.
However, a common criticism of AI-generated text is that it can appear generic and toneless. While this could be an issue for creating engaging content, the primary goal of this feature is to quickly generate concise text directly within the browser. Copilot can serve as a practical starting point, providing a draft that you can expand on or use to spark new ideas.
In summary, ‘Draft with Copilot’ is set to become a more integrated and user-friendly tool within Edge, helping users generate text more efficiently and creatively.
