Microsoft Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Copilot Portraits displays animated characters in a voice chat. The feature is available through Copilot Labs in the US, UK, and Canada. You need a $20-per-month Copilot Pro subscription to access it. When I want to speak to an AI, I often enjoy chatting by voice with Microsoft Copilot. Though the voice I picked has a fun and personable British accent, the AI itself is faceless, with nothing but a background image appearing on the screen. Now, Microsoft is looking to put a face to the voice with a new experiment. Rolling out through Copilot Labs, a new test feature known as Copilot Portraits offers a variety of animated portraits designed to enhance your Copilot Voice chats. You can choose from among 40 portraits, all with different genders, races, and nationalities. Each portrait is stylized and avoids photorealism so you're aware that you're conversing with a bot. How to access Copilot Portraits Sounds like a cool way to see and hear your Copilot AI. But as usual, there are a few conditions. First, you need a Microsoft account to access Portraits. Second, the option is accessible only through Copilot Labs, which Microsoft uses as a testing ground for new AI experiments. Third, it's available to a limited number of people in the US, UK, and Canada. Fourth, and perhaps most onerous of all, you need a $20-per-month Copilot Pro plan to dive in. Many of the experiments in Copilot Labs are freely available to anyone, but some require a Pro subscription. Assuming you qualify, head to the Copilot website and select the Labs category in the left pane. If Copilot Portraits is ready and waiting for you, you'll see it listed on the screen. Click the Try now button to get started. After checking out all the portraits, choose the one you want to use and pick a voice to accompany it. You can then kick off a conversation. As you chat by voice with Copilot, the image you picked will speak and react to your words. Using animation, the character's mouth will move in sync with the words, providing as natural a conversation as you can expect with an AI. As any AI can behave inappropriately or even dangerously, Microsoft promises to apply certain safeguards and filters to Portraits. The feature is accessible only to people 18 years and older and will clearly state that you're interacting with an AI. At this stage, Microsoft's main goal is to elicit feedback about the feature. The company also says it will keep tweaking Portraits before eventually expanding it to more people. Responding to the announcement about Portraits on X, one person shared their feedback on the experience. "It's great! To the point I was bashful talking initially as the characters are very fixated on the subject. Some comments: they switch language well, this guy is very pleasant but sounds like he smokes 2 packs a day (tho he promised he's not been sneaking cigs). They will tell stories randomly, approximate rhyme but will not sing. They will critique (or at least positively respond to) recitation of a poem, but will not alternate verses with you." This isn't Microsoft's first attempt to provide a face to Copilot. In July, the company launched Copilot Appearance with small blob-like avatars that will smile, nod, and even raise an eyebrow while speaking with you. Though Appearance and Portraits are designed with the same purpose, the two offer different spins on what you see and how the image interacts with you.