Would you use Copilot if Microsoft started integrating it into messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, or Messenger? Microsoft seems to think so.

Last week, Microsoft quietly introduced a new Copilot bot for Telegram. This bot requires your phone number and works only outside the EU, but it offers Copilot in Telegram for free.

The Telegram Copilot bot is part of Microsoft’s new project, “copilot-for-social,” which aims to bring generative AI to social apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. While we don’t know if WhatsApp-based Copilot is in the works, Microsoft has launched the official Copilot bot on Telegram, which you can find by searching for @CopilotOfficialBot.

The bot is in beta, and it’s also verified on Telegram.

In our tests, Windows Latest observed that the Copilot Telegram bot works only in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia. It can be used on desktops, mobile, and the web.

As shown in the screenshot above, Copilot for Telegram requires you to enter your phone number.

Microsoft claims that the company needs the phone number for security reasons and will not store it for anything else.

“To ensure a secure experience, we require a quick one-time verification of your mobile number linked with your Telegram account. We don’t store your number,” Microsoft noted in a message that pops up in Telegram when users start the bot.

But why would Microsoft need your phone number to enable a “secure experience”? on a private messaging app like Telegram? Windows Latest understands that Microsoft is forcing users to share their phone numbers to verify the account’s location.

When Microsoft detects the EU country code, it will block you from using the bot.

It’s also worth noting that Copilot’s Telegram bot isn’t as powerful as the web or Windows counterpart. While it works for most tasks, you cannot generate images using the bot.

Also, it doesn’t appear to be using ChatGPT-4o.

In our tests, we observed that the bot is based on ChatGPT-4 and Microsoft’s in-house models, and it’s not possible to switch between the three modes: Creative, Balanced and Precise.

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