Microsoft releases AI-powered Xbox Support Virtual Agent for Xbox Insiders

Microsoft is testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for its Xbox platform. On Monday, the company announced an AI-powered support virtual agent that aims to assist gaming console players with support-related issues. Rumors about the chatbot first started surfacing in April and now the company has officially released the AI ​​bot in preview mode. Currently, it is only available to Xbox Insiders living in the US, where English is set as the preferred language.

Microsoft releases AI-powered chatbot for Xbox

In a newsroom post, Microsoft dubbed its AI chatbot Support Virtual Agent. This is a new feature available on Xbox’s support website. While the AI ​​chatbot can converse in natural language fluently, it is specialized to assist players with support-related issues.

The AI ​​chatbot has been launched for US-based members of the Xbox Insider program who have signed up for the experimental update. Microsoft said eligible users will start seeing the chatbot on the “Contact Us” page on the platform’s support page after signing in to their account.

Xbox’s AI chatbot accepts both text and voice as input and can respond with relevant information from the gaming platform’s support page. Users will also be able to choose between two different chatbots by clicking on the ellipsis menu icon. The company said that if the support virtual agent cannot resolve an issue, users can request to speak to a live support agent during the company’s normal hours of operation.

The Verge reported that the chatbot could appear either as an AI character that animates when answering a question or as a multicolored Xbox orb. It’s unclear whether Xbox plans to add more chatbot options for users or expand its ability to assist users with their accounts, game catalog, game reviews, etc.

Notably, the AI ​​chatbot currently supports only the English language. The company has also sought feedback from Xbox Insiders about the AI ​​chatbot. Users can provide feedback directly within the chatbot interface by tapping the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” button on individual responses. Separately, they can also provide feedback by typing their opinion in the text field that appears after tapping the “Give Feedback” button at the bottom of the page.