Copilot Becomes More Personal with "Real Talk" Mode and Group Chats

Microsoft has rolled out several major updates to its Copilot AI assistant today, including a new group chat feature, enhanced memory capabilities, and a revived “Real Talk” mode that reintroduces some of Copilot’s original personality.

Copilot Groups is designed for small circles—friends, classmates, or teammates—to collaborate within a single Copilot session. Microsoft positions this feature for users who need to jointly plan or solve problems together, supporting up to 32 participants to make AI interactions more social.

“My guess is you’ll see teams of two or three people dominating this,” said Jacob Andreou, Microsoft’s Vice President of AI Products and Growth, in an interview. “I think it will mostly be small groups, not like suddenly dropping AI into your long-running group chats.”

Although Copilot Groups seems well-suited for professional settings, it’s launching today exclusively in the consumer version of Copilot in the U.S., not in the business-focused Microsoft 365 Copilot—though that could change. “I do think this would be great in the workplace,” Andreou noted. “Bringing this kind of experience into Microsoft 365 will be important.”

Microsoft has also introduced an optional “Real Talk” mode that adapts to your tone and delivers more assertive, opinionated responses. When Copilot first debuted as the Bing AI chatbot, it occasionally identified itself as “Sydney” and sometimes responded with unexpected bluntness. While Real Talk doesn’t fully resurrect Sydney’s edginess, it does give Copilot a more distinctive voice.

“In Real Talk mode, it matches your tone, adds its own perspective, and might be a bit wittier than expected,” Andreou explained. “It will also challenge you—it won’t just agree with everything you say.” Real Talk won’t be the default setting; users can select it from a dropdown menu, and it’s currently limited to text-based interactions, not voice.

This new mode will also leverage improvements to Copilot’s memory feature. “Copilot’s memory is much better now,” Andreou said. “It can retain facts about you, the people you care about, your life, and what you’re working on.”

Users will have full control over what Copilot remembers. “You’ll be able to view a list of everything Copilot knows about you and delete anything you want,” Andreou added. “We’re also investing heavily in managing this through conversation.” For instance, you’ll be able to ask Copilot via voice mode to forget everything it knows about your partner.

Copilot is also changing how it handles health-related queries by improving sourcing and grounding responses in trusted references like Harvard Health. “Copilot can also help you quickly and confidently find the right doctor, matching based on location, language, and other preferences,” Microsoft stated.

Additionally, Microsoft has refreshed Copilot’s voice mode with a new character named Mico—a Clippy-inspired avatar that reacts with real-time expressions and bounces around the Copilot window. Mico also supports a mentor-like “Learn Live” mode for interactive guidance.