Microsoft is testing an AI chatbot for Xbox. Here's What It Can Do

 The tech giant is testing an animated character who would provide customer support.

Microsoft has integrated artificial intelligence into nearly all of its products, from Bing search to PowerPoint. It is currently trying AI for customer support on its Xbox.

"We are testing an Xbox Support Virtual Agent, an internal prototype of an animated character that can query Xbox Support topics with voice or text," Haiyan Zhang, Xbox's general manager of Gaming AI, told CNET via email.

According to Microsoft, the animated figure would use information from existing Xbox Support pages to respond to questions from players.

The chatbot might also process gaming refunds, according to an earlier article by The Verge. 

Microsoft has actively embraced AI.

The move is another example of Microsoft using artificial intelligence into its product offerings. Building a chatbot that can do more than just answer questions goes well beyond the first Copilot generative AI technology that Microsoft included into its Bing search engine and Office products as a result of its investment and relationship with OpenAI.

However, Microsoft has already hinted at such items. CEO Satya Nadella has discussed employing voice-enabled AI to assist users in filling out forms, and the business has also showcased technologies that swiftly summarize information from press releases, financial filings, and conference transcripts.

The tech giant has made AI such a central aspect of its products that it's added a dedicated AI Copilot button to keyboard layouts, the first change since Microsoft introduced the Windows key in 1994.

Microsoft hasn't announced when the Xbox AI will be available, but the company is promising updates to its video gaming system and services soon. Last year, the corporation admitted to mistakenly leaking a presentation revealing its forthcoming "Brooklin" Xbox. The new gadget, which is supposedly discless, would have a cylinder form instead of the boxy design of the Xbox Series X (which has been mocked in memes for resembling a refrigerator).

AI technology may help Microsoft's Xbox distinguish apart from Sony's planned PlayStation 5 Pro video game console, which is expected to be released this year. Apple is also apparently researching into AI and designing its own AI advancements for the iPhone, which may be released as early as this summer.