Copilot on a TV might just be an AI gimmick.

LG and Samsung have both announced their 2025 smart TVs at CES this weekend, and some of them will include access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant. Both TV manufacturers are chasing the artificial intelligence hype train with dedicated AI sections on their smart TVs that include a shortcut to a Copilot web app.

LG is adding an entire AI section to its TVs and rebranding its remote to “AI Remote,” in an effort to sell consumers on the promise of large language models. While it’s not clear exactly how Copilot works on LG’s latest TVs, the company describes access to Copilot as a way to allow users to “efficiently find and organize complex information using contextual cues.”

LG hasn’t demonstrated its Copilot integration just yet, but it has shown off its own AI Chatbot that’s part of its TVs. It appears Copilot will be surfaced when LG TV users want to search for more information on a particular subject.

Samsung also has its own Vision AI brand for its AI-powered TV features this year, which include AI upscaling, Auto HDR Remastering, and Adaptive Sound Pro. There’s also a new AI button on the remote to access AI features like recognizing food on a screen or AI home security features that analyze video feeds from smart cameras.

Microsoft’s Copilot will be part of this Vision AI section. “In collaboration with Microsoft, Samsung announced the new Smart TVs and Smart Monitors featuring Microsoft Copilot,” says Samsung in a press release. “This partnership will enable users to explore a wide range of Copilot services, including personalized content recommendations.”

I asked Samsung for more information or images of Copilot in action, but the company doesn’t have anything more to share right now. I’ve also asked LG and Microsoft for more information about Copilot on TVs and neither company has responded in time for publication. Without any indication of exactly how Copilot works on these TVs, I’m going to chalk this one up as a gimmicky feature that LG, Samsung, and Microsoft clearly aren’t ready to demo yet.

  • @[email protected]English
    -6•2 days ago

    Fair, but I mean, there could be bugfixes, etc, that’ s what firmware updates are for.

    I’m not arguing with you really, but at least one firmware update opportunity seems like a good practice for just about everything, IMO. I have a current Samsung TV, and it has been allowed to connect via my guest network exactly one time, after which I deleted the relevant settings.

    • r00ty
      31•2 days ago

      If you’re just using the HDMI ports, there’s not really many bugfixes you’re likely to need. Most bugfixes will be to the “smart” part. Which, if you don’t want to connect it to the internet, you aren’t using at all.

        • r00ty
          13•2 days ago

          Yeah, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities. But by far, they’re more likely to be updates for the smart features.

        • SayCyberOnceMoreEnglish
          10•2 days ago

          I updated a Phillips (I think?) TV - years ago, so this was over-the-air, not internet - and the built-in Program Schedule started showing adverts that were obviously in the update.

          Eventually the ads stopped appearing, so at least there was some form of expiry date, but no, I’m very wary of consumer updates.

          TVs should remain as display devices. I even keep the tuner equipment as a separate device to upgrade separately - sorry if that doesn’t increase their market share.

          What next? A toaster with butter spreader built-in?

          • r00ty
            8•2 days ago

            What next? A toaster with butter spreader built-in?

            Yes, but the it burns the logo of the highest bidder each month onto your toast.

          • TVA
            6•2 days ago

            What next? A toaster with butter spreader built-in?

            I mean, that’s at least a feature that you can look at and say “Huh, I’m not lazy enough to use it myself, but I’m glad it’s there for Granny who has arthritis and can’t hold the knife very well anymore” UNLIKE the AI which is basically just there for Samsung/LG to get money from Microsoft and for Microsoft … ??? … Profit???

    • @corrodedEnglish
      5•2 days ago

      I use my TV as basically just a dumb display panel. If it can display 4k/60, then there is no bug that needs to be fixed. I don’t even use built-in audio.

      I connected my other TV to my network once when my Nvidia Shield wasn’t working. That TV is still showing advertisements in the main menu for shows that were released 3 years ago.

      • @[email protected]English
        2•2 days ago

        Your use case is nearly identical to mine. Still wanted to be sure there weren’t bugs in HDR or other display features that needed to be addressed.

        Look I’m not saying ZOMG HOW CAN YOU NOT GET A FIRMWARE UPDATE, I’m just surprised both that so many people don’t and that so many people don’t even seem to see why they might want to.

        • @corrodedEnglish
          6•2 days ago

          I completely understand what you’re saying; in general, I tend to agree that if a firmware update is available, it’s best to install it. I keep the firmware up to date on all my networking equipment, and the first thing I do when I set up a new PC is install Windows updates (or apt-get update in Linux).

          I have two TVs. One in the living room, and one in the bedroom. After the brief time I had my bedroom TV connected to my network, it immediately started serving me advertisements. I hate ads with a passion. When it comes to network security, privacy probably comes second to blocking ads in terms of priority. When it came time to replace my living room TV, I first tried to repair it, but after spending too much on a replacement mainboard that didn’t do shit, I just bought a new TV. There was no way in hell I was letting it connect to the internet and download advertisements.

          I have an extensive Zigbee network for home automation, 10GB fiber links between my servers and my home office, etc. My home is very much “connected.” TVs are just one of those things that I will never, ever, under any circumstances, allow to connect to anything other than a video cable. If I’m paying $1000 or more for a device, I’ll be damned if it’s going to show me advertisements.

        • @KrudlerEnglish
          0•2 days ago

          You’re wasting your breath. These people are smart enough to know that you can connect (hell, even to an ad-hoc network if you’re so f’king paranoid) once to FW update then hard-reset. These people are just being pissy. They also know that “IF dIsPLaY PIcTuRe No BUg PosSiBLe” are absolutely lying to themselves because they’re not actually that technically illiterate.

          I hate it when people pretend to be dumb just to continually underscore a feeble point.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•2 days ago

      If you want to do firmware updates on a “disconnected” TV, i would recommend putting the firmware update on a usb stick and update the TV that way.