When Microsoft debuted its AI-powered Bing Chat, the plain level of comparability was Clippy, the digital assistant customers liked and/or loathed in Microsoft Office 97. Now Clippy is again, in a brand new, unauthorized app that one way or the other has made it onto the Microsoft Store.

Clippy by Firecube makes use of Microsoft’s animated paper clip, Clippy (often known as Clippit to purists), as a entrance finish for ChatGPT 3.5, the AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. Although the app refers to Clippy by title, the total textual content description of the app instantly identifies it as “Not by Microsoft” to presumably fend off any attorneys that may be sniffing concerning the app. Firecube has a great fame as a developer who appears deeply into new Windows code for unpublicized options.

Basically, Clippy by Firecube appears like a entrance finish for ChatGPT. So why use it? Nostalgia.

Clippy/Clippit, in any other case often known as the Microsoft Paperclip, persevered in Office for Windows 97 till 2003, in response to Wikipedia. As many could bear in mind, Clippy was simply certainly one of varied incarnations of the Office Assistant, which might seem as The Genius, Power Pup the canine, Scribble the cat, and extra. It was finally killed off by default in Office XP. Later, Clippy landed within the “it’s so bad it’s good” class of popular culture, and right this moment the paperclip emoji inside Windows (sort the Windows key, then a semicolon) is Clippy by default.

It’s vital to notice that Clippy by Firecube in all probability received’t have a protracted shelf life. Microsoft is expected to debut Windows Copilot someday this summer time. (Officially, the function is scheduled to debut earlier than the top of June, which ends shortly.) The distinction between Windows Copilot and Clippy by Firecube goes past the title. While Clippy by Firecube is basically a ChatGPT interface, Windows Copilot ought to have deep hooks into the Windows working system.

The distinction between the 2 AI bots is additional defined by the screenshot Firecube revealed. In it, Clippy’s ChatGPT interface can inform you the way you change the Windows background, however that’s all. It’s probably that Windows Copilot will truly carry out that job for you, should you ask. Otherwise, each Windows Copilot and Clippy by Firecube each run on prime of ChatGPT, so different solutions ought to be comparable.

There’s additionally one other small, however key distinction: character. Microsoft has a had a love/hate relationship with injecting character into its chatbots, from Tay to its latest misadventures with Bing Chat’s AI character. Windows Copilot will probably be a no-nonsense chatbot. Clippy, nonetheless, was intentionally, er, useful, and can in all probability stay so.

Clippy by Firecube, although a free app, does require an API key, a token that identifies you and hyperlinks to your account. You can join one at OpenAI’s web site here. While the signup is free (and so is a trial) the OpenAI API assigns your account free credit which can be used up as you utilize the Clippy by Firecube app. You’ll additionally have to belief the app itself, as you’ll be supplying a paid token to the writer. Windows Copilot, nonetheless, will probably be fully free, as is Bing Chat.

Still, should you’re in search of a blast from the previous and don’t thoughts a fast setup course of, Clippy by Firecube could also be for you.