Your AI Buddy is More Fun Than Reading the Minecraft Manual

You can learn to play Minecraft by reading the instructions, joining in forums, chatting online, or by having an experienced player in the room with you. The latter is the most fun, but what if you don't like people, or you don't have any gaming friends? There's an app for that! Microsoft Copilot combines real-time advice to get you through a game and offers tips to experienced players, plus offers the kind of encouragement you'd like from a friend. That's artificial intelligence, from ChatGPT-4o.

And so it begins. The gamer alone in a basement is a stereotype, but it didn't come out of nowhere. The minority of gamers who are in that situation can reach out to make online friends, but if that's not necessary for feedback, some won't even bother. After all, Microsoft Copilot won't bust your balls when you do something really stupid, and it will never require that you reciprocate by watching it play. The perfect friend. Check out what we know about your new artificial gaming buddy at Ars Technica.