Apple are adding the already missed and by September 2024, potentially rather out of date AI features to the iOS with its 18th update. For those of you in the know and don’t want to wait, you can get AI features on your iPhone today! Copilot is a new app from Microsoft, no really! Head over to the App Store and download it today. When you open Copilot, you’re given three ‘conversation styles’ you can choose from; Creative, Balanced and Precise. This choice massively changes your Copilot experience, and we would advise you to make the choice based on your task/question.
Interaction with Copilot is performed via your voice or direct keyboard input, using the ‘Ask me anything…’ input bar at the base of the Copilot panel. Click the microphone icon to interact using your voice or click on the Ask me anything text to enter your request via the keyboard.

Now we’re set up, let’s start using Copilot. One core area of the app is using it to perform simple operational tasks on your iPhone device. For example, if you select the Precise conversation style and ask Copilot to “Send an email”, it then asks you if you wish to open Mail. After your initial request Copilot remembers your choices. The app often asks you a question related to your request. For example, having elected to send an email, Copilot offers to draft this message for you, based on the basic content structure you have provided for you to send. The more you use Copilot, the better and more personal the experience becomes. The app is keen to learn more about you, and asks you questions to build its knowledge base. For example, ask it for the latest sports scores and the app asks your favourite team.

Let’s ask it to write a poem about the Autumn. Select the Creative style and enter the request into the input bar. Did you enjoy its work? Let Copilot know by selecting the thumbs up/down options from the Copy link top-right of the piece, or Copy to move the text to another document. An area in which Copilot quickly becomes an essential service is the short question input. Need a recipe? Ask. Want to compare an iPhone to Samsung Galaxy smartphone? Ask. Want the latest sports scores, movie reviews, news, a store’s opening times or tech support? Ask. You can also ask Copilot to identify an item, object or individual from an image. Drag the image to the input bar and ask, “What is this image?” With this or any question you can also ask to translate the description to another language. Copilot then gives its response. Your interactions with Copilot are displayed as a dialogue flow, which can be explored using the slider on the right. Once you’ve finished your interaction, click the three dots at the top of the panel and click Refresh to clear the chat. Your interaction is stored by the app itself.

Are Apple poised to unleash the ultimate AI update in iOS 18? Until then download Copilot today.