Microsoft celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special Copilot event presentation today (April 4) at its headquarters in Washington.
Tom's Guide was there live on the ground in Seattle to cover all the latest upgrades coming to Microsoft's AI platform, as well as share some of the more interesting reminiscing that Microsoft execs indulged in to mark the company's 50th birthday.
And what we learned, to sum up, is that Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant is getting a massive overhaul that brings with it a host of new features, including the ability for Copilot to "see" what you're looking at and answer questions about it.
We went hands-on with the new Microsoft Copilot and found that some features were more impressive than others, but the overall upgrade seems pretty impressive. These features will be slowly released over the coming months, so for now this event is our only taste of what to expect from the future of Copilot.
The event is over, but you can still scroll down to relive the blow-by-blow account and see everything we saw in our time at Microsoft HQ. So follow along with us as we see what's coming to Copilot!
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Welcome to the party, pal!
We have much to talk about before the main event — what I predict the Copilot announcements will be, how Microsoft got here after 50 years.
Let's start with a little bit of fun. If you read my April Fools' Day live blog, you know I'm a bit of a connoisseur for what is actually good and what's pretty cringe.
So I'm bringing the cringe rating back! I'm going to go through some of Microsoft's more momentous moments in history, watching them back and giving them a score on the cringe-o-meter. Stand by, it's going to get weird...
Where it all began...
On April 4, 1975, Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a two-car garage in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, you may be wondering where the name came from!
Well, the inspiration came from a cover of Popular Electronics Magazine.
In this January 1975 issue, the team took a deep dive into the Altair 8800 with its Intel 8080 CPU — an 8-bit microprocessor with a 2MHz clock speed, alongside 256 bytes of RAM and 8-inch floppy disk drive.
Bill and Paul's plan was to create software for this computer. Microprocessors + software = Microsoft (sometimes written as Micro-Soft).
Cringe rating: 1/5
Outside of the hairstyles (which I'll admit, I sported Gates' mop in my younger years), nothing remotely cringe about this. That logo is sick, and we absolutely need a throwback in branding design era now!
Clippy — the first signs of Copilot
Introduced as part of Office 97, you know exactly who this paperclip is... In many ways, this memorable figure in Microsoft's history is cringeworthy to say the least. But personally, I like to view this annoying assistant as the early makings of Copilot.
You see, take the physical appearance away, and what you get is an AI assistant that is there to help you write a letter, spell words or save files...sound familiar? Great Big Story did a piece on how it was made — fascinating watch.
Cringe rating: 4/5
I was ready to give Clippy full marks. From how annoying its presence was to the anthropomorphic paperclip that haunted my nightmares, there's a whole lot of cringe here.
But tracking back from Copilot to this, it's fascinating to see just how long Microsoft has been on this AI hype trying to make it happen — and now we have Copilot+ PCs.
Halo put Xbox on the map
Every games console needs games — more specifically a system seller to really make it an essential buy. For PS2, there are numerous such as Gran Turismo 3, MGS 2: Sons of Liberty and GTA III.
For Xbox, there was Halo, and I'll stand on business and say it was the greatest game of that generation of consoles. It looked phenomenal, the combat and movement felt amazing on the controller, and the multiplayer was addictive as hell.
Microsoft wheeled out so many celebrities (including The Rock) to talk about Xbox. But as it turns out, you just need really good games to sell it, and this masterpiece absolutely delivered.
Cringe rating: 0/5
Halo rules. Nothing more to say about it. Playing Blood Gulch team slayer with my friends is a core memory that I will never forget.
Apple well and truly dropped the bag by not following through with its plan to work with Bungie to get Halo on the Mac. In fact, I'd argue that this is one of the moments that has led to the Cupertino crew being quite a ways behind its Windows competition in the gaming space.
Let’s talk about “that” Windows 95 launch…
Windows 95 absolutely changed the game for computing — moving from the text-based MS-DOS to an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI), adding multitasking capabilities, plug and play support for peripherals, and (for the first time) making computing more accessible to the masses.
Microsoft knew it struck gold, so they hosted a long event and…it’s so cringe.
Cringe rating: 5/5
Whether it’s the hours upon hours of sweaty Steve Ballmer or the “I don’t really know the Bride and Groom, but I’m just here to dance” boogieing on-stage, I applaud how hyped they are.
But this was one of many, many moments you look back on through the gaps between your fingers.
Microsoft went public in 1986 — you won’t believe how much they were worth
Since its beginning in the 70s, Microsoft was a private company, and the stock market was keen for it to go public. Eventually on March 13, 1986, it was time to launch an initial public offering.
At the time, the public offering gave over 3 million shares at $21 a pop. This was based on a market cap of $777 million. Now, to make the following comparison more fair, if we take inflation into account, that would be $2.2 billion nowadays.
Sounds like a big number, right? Well, given the market cap is now at over $3 trillion, this is basically peanuts!
Xbox One — the one moment Microsoft threw gaming away
Talk about fumbling the ball. Up until this point, Microsoft’s plan was golden. The Xbox was a success, the 360 was a global hit and they all followed the same formula — good. Games.
Then we got the Xbox One announcement, and they spent 95% of the show talking about TV rather than games, putting a sky high price tag on it, making online verification to play your games a requirement, and Kinect a requirement to play.
Cringe rating: ⅘
Microsoft did come back somewhat from this, and Game Pass + game preservation proves it. But this fumble set them back so far. Plus watching someone say “Xbox is about to become the next watercooler” will never stop making me cringe.
3D Pinball: Space Cadet ruined my education
Cast your mind back to the early 2000s. I was in school, and we just got a shiny new computer lab. We had Excel assignments to do, and a teacher that had no idea how to lock the systems down to specific apps.
Well, that meant rather than do the work, we stumbled upon 3D Pinball: Space Cadet, and did absolutely none of the work. Sorry to admit this now, Mr Peck, but hopefully you can understand.
This game absolutely ruled — from the flashy graphics and realistic physics to the competitions it created. Oh, and if you want, you can still play it here.
Could we get Copilot’s answer to visual AI?
Now, let’s have a think about what Microsoft could be bringing to the main event today. All we know is that there will be Copilot announcements. But what could they be?
Well if one thing is clear from the advances to Gemini and Apple’s visual intelligence, it’s that companies are moving forward to visual AI using the camera. Could Copilot introduce something like this? I don’t know, but it does seem like a logical step forward.
Maybe using the webcam to recognise items you show it?
Remember when Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry taught us to use Windows 95?
Windows 95 was the first of its kind to introduce a graphical user interface (GUI), so Microsoft had to educate people on it. This was a huge leap to making computing more accessible after all?
So what was the fix? Video guides with celebrities! In particular, this one with Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry. Both of them are busy figuring out how to put stuff in the Recycle Bin, multitask, and a random rock band moment for...reasons.
Cringe rating: 4/5
Now, I'm sure that back in the 90s, this was viewed as pretty cool. But it's most certainly not aged well!
Copilot just interviewed (and roasted) 3 Microsoft CEOs
Three Microsoft CEOs walk into a room on Microsoft’s 50th anniversary … and are interviewed by Copilot! pic.twitter.com/5E8wHCDV92April 4, 2025
As part of the promo campaign building up to Microsoft's special event, there's this fun little segment of a roundtable interview hosted...by Copilot! Bill Gates, Satya Nadella and Steve Ballmer are thrown a couple softballs, but grilled too. It's a fun watch.
Check out the original source code for Microsoft's first product!
Bill Gates just posted something special to his blog — the original source code to Altair Basic. Those who are old enough to remember will know this was a programming language interpreter for the MITS Altair 8800, and Microsoft's first product.
Gates calls it "the coolest code I've ever written to this day," and it's a fascinating time capsule of programming in the 70s. Here are two of the coolest things I spotted while reading through some of the lingo:
- Efficiency baked into every bit: From the code employing a "crunch" routine to convert words into tokens and reduce size to "FNDFOR" routines that use the space efficiently, there's a lot of squeezing work being done here.
- Error handling: Before this, errors weren't really "handled" as much as the computer just said "no," and you had to figure things out. Here, however, the code has a specific error-handling mechanism to print a two-character error message.
Hello from Redmond!
Our on-the-ground reporter, US Editor-in-Chief Mike Prospero has got his badge at the special Copilot event happening today!
Stay tuned for more...
Breakfast time
You know a company means business when the breakfast spread is good. I'm addicted to these avocado quiche bites — very fluffy and the pickled onion adds a nice balance.
Solid 9/10!
Hate Comic Sans all you want! It actually serves a purpose
So Comic Sans may have gotten it's own lore and hatred, but did you know it's friendly appearance actually serves a purpose?
Comic Sans was actually built for easier legibility, and can actually help dyslexic readers with its distinct lettering. Watch Microsoft talk all about this!
Bill Gates was far too cool in his Xbox era
The drip is immaculate. I so want that jacket!
Breakfast is heating up
Good thing I came early and ate! It's almost time to take our seats.
My Copilot announcement predictions
Jason England from the home team checking in! I'll be watching along with all of you, and I wanted to highlight my predictions for the Copilot announcements. Not much is known, so let's make some guesses.
- More agentic properties? Not 100% sure whether this could be a browser operator like what we saw Opera, or whether it's something a little more tailor-made. But this is me putting this wish out into the world.
- Visual AI: Whether it's through a phone's camera or your Copilot+ PC's webcam, some sort of visual recognition AI that works across Microsoft's suite of apps would be sweet.
We're on the way to the event!
Breakfast is over and we're walking over now!
And we're in!
It looks like today's attendees are a mix of media, influencers, and a good number of Microsoft employees!
We've got swag!
Phil Spencer? More like Drip Spencer
Yes, that Adidas top is immaculate. Got some serious Minecraft vibes from it!
Watch along with us here!
The stream has started, and we're just under 30 minutes away from the start of the big event! By the way, there's a live band here!
Throwback to the first ever Surface sold!
Glenn bought the first Surface at Microsoft pop-up store in New York on October 26, 2012! Fast forward 13 years, and the new Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 are two of the best Windows systems you can buy.
The Future Family!
We're joined by fellow Future colleagues Lance Unaloff, Jake Krol (Tech Radar) and Dan Rubino (Windows Central)
Almost time!
The big show is about to happen soon and the venue is filling up fast!
And we're live!
Satya Nadella takes the stage to kick off the Microsoft 50th anniversary event!
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer
Nadella introduces Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, the men who founded Microsoft. And yes, that is Phil Spencer next to Ballmer.
Future-facing
"Today it's not about the last 50 years but the next 50... our future will nto be defined by what we have built but what we will empower others to build." - Satya Nadella
Microsoft's AI ambitions
As expected, Nadella is now discussing the company's plans for AI and how it plans to build agents for different tasks. One of the goals is to build trustworthy AI systems. And this isn't just for businesses, but for everyday users.
Will AI become useful?
AI has yet to take off big like the tech industry believes, so hopefully we'll get a clearer idea of how LLMs can help people in their everyday work.
How Windows transformed lives
Mustafa Suleyman takes the stage to talk about the first PC his parents bought him. He installed Windows 95 on it. This is a story many of us can relate to.
Welcome to the era of AI companions and copilots
"Today, the average person on the planet will live for 75 years. Just 250 years ago, the average person only made it to 25." - Sulleyman
"AI is a new form of interaction, far richer than any tool we've ever experienced."
We interupt our regularly scheduled program
A protester briefly interrupts the presentation to voice their concerns over Microsoft allegedly ignoring global conflicts and perhaps being complicit in them.
How Copilot can help people
We now see clips of folks using Copilot for everyday tasks.
Use Copilot to create podcasts
Suleyman demonstrates how to create a dinosaur-themed podcast for his family. You'll basically chat with Copilot, and it can respond with witty answers. This might be a fun thing to try out.
Action Quotient
Copilot's AQ, or Action Quotient, allows it to perform actions on your behalf. Best of all, it has links to all its references so you can trust it.
Copilot Pages can help you write
You can write a letter to your landlord to adjust the terms of the lease. From there you can refine using your style.
Microsoft 365 Copilot updates
Microsoft 365 will get a boost with agents that can complete a variety of AI-driven tasks. Some features are available today while others will roll out in the next couple of weeks.
Use Copilot to train your dog
If you're a new dog owner and don't know how to train it, you can ask Copilot to help you out. Dog training can be stressful, so hopefully Copilot can relieve some of that stress for folks.
A true AI companion
Elvira Johnson takes the stage to discuss how she uses Copilot to help her around her home. Painting your home can be hard in humid weather, but Elvira now has a better idea of how to do this thanks to Copilot. Best of all, asking it questions doesn't feel weird.
Joonie is the best dog
I think we can all agree that Joonie is absolutely adorable. This is the star of the show!
Copilot memory
"We're building something that weill adapt to each and every one of us. Ultimately, I think there will be as many copilots as there will be people using them."
Copilot will get to know you personally. You'll never need to start over with our personal copilot. You can always work from a place of deep understanding based on hat you want to share. It will remember more than the specific facts of your life. It can learn your personal style.
A true AI companion
AI has felt impersonal, so it's good to see that Copilot will actually get to know you more personally. This could help people who are hesitant to use the technology feel more comfortable with it. And yes, you can use Clippy as your avatar!
And that's it!
And it's over, folks! The presentation felt shorter than expected, but we got some good information and demonstrations of how Copilot will evolve. We'll have more coverage coming so stay tuned to this page!
The show continues
The livestream on YouTube is over but we're still at the event covering what happens. Right now, Allen Stone returned to keep the folks in attendance entertained.
Now it's Q&A time with Bill, Ballmer and the rest
The livestream has ended and the official Copilot presentation is over, but Tom's Guide is still here at Microsoft HQ watching what looks to be a series of chats with senior execs.
So far we've seen former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer step onstage to have a brief (and probably pre-planned) chat with actress Brenda Song, who's handling MC duties now that the main event is over.
"I dropped out of Harvard, Paul moved back to Boston, and when that first kit computer showd up on Popular Mechanics..." Gates said after Song asked him about how and why he and Paul Allen cofounded Microsoft. "There was no software industry, and we thought we could get in the front of this."
At least one Microsoft employee is using this event to protest against the company selling tech to the Israeli military
As the post-event Q&A continues Tom's Guide is still here at Microsoft, and it sounds like there might be more protestors outside the venue. Our editor on the ground can't hear what they're shouting, but they appear to be holding up signs and chanting.
This follows a surprise entrance by Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad during the first 30 minutes of today's presentation. Aboussad interrupted Copilot CEO Mustafa Suleyman to angrily protest Microsoft's business of selling AI services and software to the Israeli military.
"Shame on you all!" She shouted. "You have blood on your hands!"
She spoke for several minutes before being escorted out of the venue by security, while Suleyman repeatedly said "I hear your protest." Now it sounds like more protestors are outside wanting to be heard.
Developers! Developers! Developers!
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
Steve Ballmer reprises one of his most famous moments from Microsoft's past.
Another protestor interrupts the event
In the midst of a panel with Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, and Satya Nadella, another protestor interrupted the event. She was on the other side of the stage, so we couldn't get a clear photo.
A sneak peek at the new Minecraft movie
After the three CEOs leave the stage, we get a sizzle reel for the new Minecraft movie with Jack Black, which happens to coincide with the release of the film.
The event is wrapping up
One last video highlighting all that Copilot can do concludes today's event. However, we're going to go hands-on with some of Copilot's new features, so stay tuned.
This certainly has been an interesting event, though not entirely for reasons Microsoft hoped.
As we continue to go hands-on with new Copilot demos, I wanted to quickly note that near the end of the Q&A we saw MC Brenda Song bring out Microsoft's head of PR to share some of the funnier negative reviews and complaints the company has received over the years. Decent sense of humor!
A Very Good Dog
Jooni, the pup that was part of the event, made an appearance in the demo area. I'm happy to report that she's just as fluffy as she looks, and she's very well trained — I was able to shake her paw!
Copilot Visual
@tomsguide ♬ vlog. TikTok. Chill hop.(1245459) - table_1
Stay tuned for our full story, but here's a look at how Copilot Visual works on a phone. In this demo, we pointed the phone's camera at an actual camera, and ask Copilot what camera it was, and how we could adjust the camera to take good pictures.
Let's go shopping!
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
Copilot can also help you purchase things. In this example, we used the AI to look for a chocolate cake recipe, and when we found one we liked, we had Copilot add all the ingredients to our Instacart shopping list.
Copilot hands-on
I went hands-on with some of Copilot's new features; here's the three that impressed us the most, but there were some others that looked pretty cool, too.
For instance, there was an instance of Copilot running a version of Quake 2, which it was creating in real-time. The graphics weren't exactly cutting-edge, but it was definitely playable.
There was also a podcast demo, where I gave Copilot a topic, and after a few minutes, it generated a podcast on that topic. While it's a bit limited — podcasts are only about five minutes in length, and you can't change the default voices — it's an interesting example of how it can do deep research and come back with something intelligent.
That's all from Redmond! We'll be doing plenty more in-depth coverage of Copilot and its new features in the coming days, weeks, and months, so stay tuned.
That's a wrap
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
It's about 4 PM at Microsoft HQ, and today's big 50th anniversary event is just about done.
We've seen the future of Copilot and hand a chance to go hands-on ourselves, so make sure to scroll down this blog for reports and video of the new Copilot being put through its paces.
Before I log off for the day, I wanted to leave you with this short clip we captured of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer standing up from his Q&A segment to do some old-fashioned shouting. Ballmer knows he has a reputation for starting chants, and it was weirdly fun to watch him start screaming at an audience of press, influencers and Microsoft employees.
