Microsoft adds Terminal Chat AI assistant to the Windows command line

Microsoft has introduced Terminal Chat, an artificial intelligence assistant that is now available in the Windows Terminal interface. The chatbot works directly in the command line interface, thanks to which you can use this interface at any skill level.

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The new feature is available in Windows Terminal (Canary) preview, which uses a variety of AI services, including ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Azure OpenAI. Users can interact with the assistant through a special interface in Windows Terminal: ask questions, troubleshoot errors, and request help on certain commands. Terminal Chat gives advice depending on the shell context – this could be PowerShell, Command Prompt, WSL Ubuntu or Azure Cloud Shell. AI’s ability to adapt helps users fill gaps in knowledge about different command line interfaces.

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Terminal Chat has a lot of potential for new and experienced users, but it requires an API key from GitHub Copilot, OpenAI, or Azure OpenAI, which is only available to paid subscribers. Microsoft also took care of privacy-oriented settings: correspondence with the chatbot is not saved by default, but if desired, it can be exported to a text file. However, we must not forget about the tendency of AI to make mistakes – when using system commands like the famous “rm -rf”, it is recommended to exercise caution.