From now on, you can also use Telegram’s Copilot, although Microsoft’s chatbot needs your mobile number to do so.
Companies offering AI tools are eager to put these tools in the spotlight. This applies not only to Microsoft, which gives Copilot an important place in Windows 11, but also for other companies. For example, Meta and Google are putting their own AI systems into their chat apps, such as WhatsApp and Google Messages. Those integrations don’t work here yet, but Microsoft offers solace. The company is following the example of Meta and Google and is now also embedding Copilot in various chat apps.
Co-pilot in Telegram
To get started, Microsoft Copilot first connects to Telegram. The move is part of Microsoft’s new program, “Social Copilot.” The goal is to offer the Copilot chatbot in more places. By integrating it into social messaging apps like Telegram, users are more likely to interact with it. Currently, the AI chatbot is only available in Telegram, but it may eventually make its way to other messaging apps.
To talk to Microsoft’s chatbot in Telegram, you have to start a new conversation. You can find the AI tool by searching “@copilotofficialbot”. It will soon become clear that it is indeed a verified bot account: the bot uses the official logo and has a blue check mark.
Phone number required
Once you want to talk to the chatbot, it will first ask you to verify your phone number. With this, Microsoft wants to make sure that you are the owner of the Telegram account, but nothing more. The chatbot says: “We can’t store your number.” Once you provide the phone number, you can start talking to the AI chatbot. The options are a little more limited than on the web. For example, you can’t switch between different Styles, and you can’t create images either. Anyone who wants to do this will have to install the separate Microsoft Copilot app.
The fact that Microsoft asks for your phone number is pretty special. Telegram itself is a secure messaging app. So it’s not clear why Microsoft needs this mobile phone number. Latest Windows You think this phone number should be used to verify your device’s location. In this way, Microsoft will close the AI chatbot to EU users. Only: Here the chatbot works normally, even with a Belgian phone number. If Microsoft actually had to use this phone number for location identification, this would be a clear violation of the GDPR: this legislation states that Microsoft must clearly indicate what purpose your data will be used for. In this case, it’s your phone number, but nowhere does it say that Microsoft will use it to determine location.
