Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has clearly focused on artificial intelligence (AI) of late, even when the system does not work as well as you would hope. But as it turns out, Copilot users are turning to the system in ways few expected. This development has investors quite concerned, and Microsoft shares were down over 2.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading as a result.
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While AI has some very interesting applications—I personally have had plenty of fun and interesting conversations feeding it what-if scenarios from pop culture and fiction just to see what might break a world—there are probably some things that should not be discussed. But users are turning to Copilot for advice about their health, about careers, and about relationships.
Apparently, when users use Copilot on desktop, it is considered a productivity tool. But for mobile users, it becomes a conversational partner instead. This suggests that setting up different interfaces for desktop and mobile could be an effective way to get more users involved. Microsoft discovered this following the analysis of 37.5 million conversations users had with Copilot, though the messages had “personally identifiable details” removed from them. One point that will likely not surprise anyone is that, late at night, the conversations turn philosophical.
A Big 2026 For Xbox
With some reports suggesting that 2027 is the year the next Xbox will emerge—which is based on historical data that says a console generation lasts about seven years—that would make 2026 the last full year before a new console emerges. And with this also being the 25th anniversary of Xbox in general, it is little surprise that Microsoft has a very big year planned.
Jason Ronald with Xbox made it clear that Microsoft has a lot in store, though he could not announce anything at the time. One point Ronald did let slip, though, was a plan connected to preserving games from the past and “…enabl(ing) them to be played in entirely different ways.” Some believe this means a wider augmentation of Xbox Game Pass, though only time will tell exactly what that means.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 32 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.58% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $632.22 per share implies 32.47% upside potential.
