You Can Now Replace Google Assistant With Copilot on Android

Typical voice assistants like Google Assistant and Bixby can't keep up with the capabilities of AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. If you've ever wanted to replace Google Assistant with an AI chatbot, Copilot lets you do just that.

How to Set Microsoft Copilot as the Default Assistant on Android

Microsoft rolled out an update to the Copilot Android app that allows you to set it as the default assistant on your Android phone. As of March 2024, this update is a part of the beta build—27.9.420225014—which anyone can access, provided you live in the United States.

You won't have to join the beta once Microsoft updates the stable build, but for now, here's what you need to do to set Copilot as the default assistant on your Android device:

1. Launch the Play Store app and head to the Microsoft Copilot Google Play app page.
2. Scroll down and tap Join under the Join the beta section.
3. Then, relaunch the Play Store app, head to the same page, and tap Install at the top. If you already have the app installed, you'll see an Update option instead.
4. Now, go to Settings > Apps > Choose default apps > Digital assistant app and tap Device assistance app. This instruction may vary slightly depending on your phone.
5. Select Copilot from the list of options. When you get a pop-up for confirmation, tap OK.

Now, you can launch and set up Copilot on your phone, choosing whether to enable features like GPT-4, change the conversation style, and more.

From now on, when you long-press the Home button or swipe inward diagonally from either of the bottom corners (if you use Android gesture navigation instead of the three-button layout), your Android phone will launch the Copilot app instead of invoking Google Assistant.

Replacing Google Assistant With Copilot Comes at a Cost

There's no doubt that Microsoft Copilot is way smarter than Google Assistant because of its AI prowess. However, since it's not baked into Android, you cannot use Copilot to perform on-device tasks like opening apps, sending messages, or making phone calls.

More importantly, this method is more akin to a shortcut for launching the app—it doesn't have the same minimal and intuitive pop-up as Google Assistant. This could be annoying when you're using another app, as you'll be forced into the Copilot app to interact with the chatbot.

If you end up wanting to revert to Google Assistant, follow the same steps we outlined above and select Google instead.

However, if you want the best of what an AI chatbot can offer without losing your virtual assistant, you may want to consider using Google Gemini on your Android phone instead. Gemini maintains Google Assistant features and can seamlessly switch between the AI chatbot and the virtual assistant, depending on whether you make an on-device request or input an AI prompt.

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