Microsoft Edge: AI Browser is the new name for the web browser available on smartphones, formerly known as Edge on Mobile. Both the iOS and Android versions of Edge now have a moniker that puts AI at the core of the browser, even though the app’s functionality is still the same (for the time being). Only a few days have passed since Microsoft published the iOS and Android app for its AI assistant, Copilot.
It goes without saying that Microsoft has been keen to win the recent race in artificial intelligence. For better or worse, artificial intelligence has been a part of almost everything it has done recently, from its new collaboration with TomTom to its AI-focused Surface computers. CEO Satya Nadella is so infatuated with Copilot that he even hinted last year that he would like to convert the Windows Start button—possibly the most recognizable aspect of the operating system—into a Copilot button. Given everything, it makes sense that Microsoft would rename one of its essential smartphone apps to highlight artificial intelligence.
Even while the mobile browser’s functionality has not changed, not everyone is happy about its new moniker. One X user wrote on Saturday, “I’m so deeply disappointed at every decision that Microsoft leadership makes around Edge.” “It seems like whenever they are given a choice between two options, they deliberately select the worse option.” The modification was even referred to as “hot garbage” by another user.
Initially, renaming an app seems harmless enough. However, a rebranding for mobile devices may easily represent something more for a corporation as large and powerful as Microsoft. Microsoft may simply want smartphone users to recognize and comprehend Edge’s connection to AI-powered services, but it’s also feasible that the company will continue to cram chatbots and other AI capabilities into its most basic apps until AI takes center stage.
Microsoft is currently using Edge’s rebranding as a chance to highlight the AI features of the browser on the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store. The Edge listings for both shops have Copilot connectivity, enabling users to create photos with DALL-E 3 and text using GPT-4.