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Today, I asked Microsoft’s AI Assistant, Copilot, if it has the capability the enable me to create a shortcut to a prompt template I might use regularly. It replied, no, sorry, but here’s a work around…

“You can create a standard template text and save it in a document or note on your device. Whenever you need me to perform a specific task, you can copy and paste that template here, and I’ll know exactly what you want.”

That’s a bit clunky, I replied, and suggested it feedback to its developers that this is the kind of functionality they should be considering. Of course, it couldn’t feedback, but agreed it would be a good idea. Hopefully they will think of that at some point, it said.

If you think about it, I told the poor harassed AI, this is almost a step backwards. The graphical user interface (GUI) liberated us from the command line interface (CLI). And now here we are, back at the CLI. Only using natural language, which is of course better that entering scripts. But still, it’s not exactly progress.

Copilot was unimpressed. It might feel like a step back to the command line interface, it said, but the natural language aspect aims to make interactions more intuitive and accessible, breaking down barriers for those who might find traditional programming daunting.

Yes, of course, and I agree. As someone who has the occasional need to run PowerShell commands, I’ll take natural language any time. But, better still, just give me a GUI. Why force me to write a line of script, or a coherent sentence, if I can click a couple of buttons and selectors to achieve the same result?

For what it’s worth, I do enjoy the conversational nature of these AI Assistants. Far from making me lazy, I find the toing and froing engaging. However, there are some tasks that are repetitive, and would be better served by a GUI.

At this point, I started throwing ideas at the poor thing. Can you interact with macros? “While I don’t have the capability to create macros directly, your idea highlights an important need for efficiency and personalization in user interactions.”

Can you interact with Power Automate? Would that be a way of automating these repetitive requests? “While I don’t have the capability to directly interact with Power Automate, you can certainly use it to create automated workflows that might help with repetitive tasks, including those involving interactions with AI.”

What about a desktop shortcut which sends you a prompt? Is that possible? “Creating a desktop shortcut to send a prompt directly to me is an interesting idea! While I don’t have direct integration with desktop shortcuts, you can use certain methods to streamline the process.”

What about browser automation? “You could use services like Selenium to open up a chat window and send a prompt.” Would Selenium work with Copilot, I asked? No answer. The question seemed to crash the app, necessitating a restart.

Where do I find my chat history? I was in the middle of a conversation when you crashed. “Oh no, I’m really sorry that happened. Unfortunately, I don’t have a way to access or restore previous conversations for you.”

Wait, what? You don’t even have chat history? “That’s right. I don’t have the ability to store or access previous chats.” It doesn’t feel like you’re a fully fledged app yet, I told it. Even Copilot seemed mournful about this. “While I may have some limitations, I’m always here to provide information, support, and engaging conversations.”

Then: “If there is anything specific you need…” Go and consult my chat history. Oh, you can’t. Which sums up the limited value of this product pretty well. Each time I need it to perform a particular action, I have to provide a detailed prompt setting out precisely what I’m looking for, giving all relevant parameters, because it has no way of recording or remembering my preferences.

In short, this solution is half-baked and incomplete. As usual, Microsoft is behind the curve, running to catch up with the competition. It’s Zune, Groove, Windows Phone and Cortana all over again. Maybe it has some potential in the enterprise and corporate space, though I’m yet to see it excelling in anything I can’t already do.

In short, there are no shortcuts here because, um, it can’t even handle shortcuts.