When you think of a copilot, the first thing that comes to mind is probably an airplane. Until now, a copilot has been that person sitting in the second chair in the cockpit, helping the captain on your flight. But sometime last year, the term \u201ccopilot\u201d started to trend in a big way in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. Take all of the generative AI technology you\u2019ve come to know and love in apps like ChatGPT, Bard, and Einstein. Now, place that right in the flow of your work \u2014 or in that second chair, if you will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At its most basic level, an AI copilot is an AI assistant that can help you accomplish routine tasks faster than before. While the introduction of the modern copilot is linked to the launch of GitHub Copilot<\/a> in 2021, these AI assistants go back even further. Since the 1990s, AI copilots \u2014 which, back then, were basic chatbots like ELIZA and Jabberwacky<\/a> or virtual assistants like IKEA\u2019s Anna<\/a> \u2014 have been popping up in everything from your email platform to shopping, banking, and medical applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the difference between now and then. Imagine you\u2019re booking a business dinner with a client based in a different city. Before the world of AI copilots, you\u2019d first scan the client\u2019s customer relationship management (CRM)<\/a> record to check for any dietary preferences. Next, you\u2019d open the Resy app and spend far too long looking for a suitable restaurant with availability. Then, on to Expedia to make your travel and lodging reservations, and, finally, your email app to send a charmingly personalised confirmation to your customer. At minimum, you\u2019d be looking at four different apps and at least a half hour of drudgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now imagine, instead, that you simply use one app: your trusty AI copilot. Instead of taking four different actions over the course of minutes or hours, you type, \u201cBook dinner with Ted next Thursday.\u201d All the steps above still take place, but the research happens in the background, and mostly without your intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the obvious time savings and the inherent sci-fi novelty, it\u2019s hard to fully articulate the value of this transformation through traditional metrics. These assistants will do the work of dozens of apps to help us build reports faster, craft customer service replies with relevant answers, draft sales emails, send flowers to our bosses, and more. But first, how do they work? <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the heart of AI copilots are powerful building blocks called copilot actions. A copilot action can encompass almost any single task or a collection of tasks for a specific job. These may include: <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow does an AI copilot work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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