- Microsoft recently announced that it is spinning off its Xiaoice (also known as Xiaobing) chatbot for Chinese users into a standalone company
Microsoft recently announced that it is spinning off its Xiaoice (also known as Xiaobing) chatbot for Chinese users into a standalone company. Microsoft first launched Xiaoice in 2014. And it utilizes artificial intelligence for chat conversations in a way that is similar to a virtual teenager.
Xiaoice taps into information from the Bing search engine and it is compatible with chat services like Weibo. Microsoft general manager Di Li said that the depth of feeling that is generated by Xiaoice across her fan base has been surprising. Many people seek her advice on personal issues about family, jobs, health, and relationships.
The new standalone company will keep serving existing users. And it might be potentially expanded to other companies in China, Japan, and Indonesia.
Microsoft is going to have an investment interest in the new company. And Di Li will be the CEO of the new company.
Xiaoice is not the only digital assistant that Microsoft has developed. The company also developed the Cortana virtual assistant for Windows 10 and mobile devices. And Microsoft also deployed a chatbot called Tay and had it deployed on Twitter. But Tay was shut down after it was manipulated by malicious users to have it respond with offensive content.
