Every step of the journey is AI.
The web browser that Microsoft offers for mobile devices is no longer known as Edge on Mobile; rather, it is now known as Microsoft Edge: AI Browser. Both the iOS and Android versions of Edge now have a moniker that places artificial intelligence at the heart of the browser, despite the fact that the app’s functionality remains the same (for the time being). This modification comes just a few days after Microsoft introduced its artificial intelligence assistant, Copilot, in the form of an app for both iOS and Android.
Microsoft has been eager to dominate the recent artificial intelligence competition that it launched, and this should not come as a surprise. Whether it’s for the better or for the worse, practically everything it’s done recently has included artificial intelligence in some manner, from its Surface computers that are focused on AI to its new cooperation with TomTom. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, is so fascinated with Copilot that he even made statements about transforming the Windows Start button, which is possibly the most recognizable element of the operating system, into a Copilot button. In light of all of this, it should not come as a surprise that Microsoft would rebrand one of its most important smartphone applications to focus on artificial intelligence.
However, despite the fact that the mobile browser’s functionality has not changed, there are some people who are not happy about the recently changed moniker. One of the users of X remarked on Saturday, “I am so deeply disappointed at every decision that Microsoft leadership makes around Edge.” “It’s almost as if whenever they are given two choices, they choose the option that is the least desirable on purpose,” Additionally, one user went so far as to refer to the modification as “hot garbage.”
It may appear to be a relatively harmless action to alter the name of an application. On the other hand, a mobile rebranding may very well represent something deeper and more significant for a firm as well-established and prominent as Microsoft. It’s possible that Microsoft wants smartphone users to realize and acknowledge Edge’s connection to AI-powered services. However, it’s also feasible that Microsoft will continue to force chatbots and other AI tools into its most essential apps until AI is the focal point of the conversation.
For the time being, Microsoft is using the rebranding of Edge as an opportunity to showcase the artificial intelligence capabilities of the browser on the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store. The Edge listings of both shops have interaction with Copilot, which enables users to generate text with GPT-4 and photos with DALL-E 3.