- Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman admitted Gemini 3 can outperform Copilot in certain areas
- Suleyman pointed to long-term ambitions for Copilot
- He wants people to treat Copilot like an ever-present personal assistant
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman has done something almost unheard of in the ongoing game of AI model one-upmanship and admitted that a rival model is more capable.
“[Gemini 3] can do things that Copilot can’t do,” Suleyman told Bloomberg in an interview. He hastened to add that “Copilot also has features that it doesn’t have,” but it was a notable acknowledgement from an AI leader that other models can be ahead in at least some respects.
Gemini 3 has been billed by Google as its most powerful multimodal model to date. Suleyman seemed fine with giving Gemini 3 all due respect, even as he quickly pivoted to highlight Copilot as more grounded and appropriate for everyday use, thanks in part to its digital eyesight.
“Copilot is actually amazing for vision. It can see everything that you are seeing and talk to you in real time,” Suleyman said. “You can share your screen with Copilot on mobile or desktop, talk about it and get feedback,” He cited this as evidence for Copilot’s focus on utility over flash.
“We’re really trying to imagine the day-to-day experience of having this really intelligent assistant at your side, that can help unblock you whenever you get stuck.”
That vision isn’t hypothetical. Microsoft is aggressively integrating Copilot across its products, from Windows 11 to Outlook to Excel to Microsoft Edge, which now offers a Copilot mode with in-browser AI assistance.
Suleyman described the company’s goal as “humanist superintelligence,” meaning AI that helps out, but doesn’t run on its own. Microsoft would “walk away” from any AI that showed signs of behaving unpredictably, he added. “We won’t continue to develop a system that has the potential to run away from us.”
Copilot’s future
Google’s Gemini 3 isn’t trying to compete on interactive assistance. It’s trying to be the smartest, most capable assistant in the room. It aims to be the best at understanding what people say, combining different data, and coming up with creative results. And as Suleyman said, that means Gemini 3 can perform in some ways that Copilot cannot.
Suleyman and Microsoft want Copilot to be more grounded. But this sort of head-to-head clarity might be a gift to consumers. After years of abstract AI announcements, it’s becoming easier to see how different models excel in different areas. Suleyman might envision a world where both Copilot and Gemini succeed in different ways, matching the different needs of users.
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