Tech News – Microsoft’s XiaoIce is an AI bot that can also converse like a human

Google’s Duplex , which can carry conversations with humans, may soon have a new competitor.

Microsoft is reportedly testing a similar technology in China for its Xiaoice social chat bot, which can call people on their phones, according to The Verge . It’s not identical to Google’s Duplex, which can make calls for you using the Assistant. Instead, Xiaoice can have a phone conversation with you. 

Microsoft has reportedly been testing the bot in China. It has more than 16 channels where people can interact with it using WeChat and other messaging services using voice or text. Xiaoice, which launched in 2014, has counterparts in India (Ruuh), Japan and Indonesia (Rinna) and the U.S. (Zo.ai, a successor to the ill-fated Tay.ai chatbot ), but none are as popular or advanced as Xiaoice.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly said the company began having full duplex conversations — in which participants can talk at the same time, as they would in a phone call — with Xiaoice earlier this year. “So now Xiaoice can be conversing with you in WeChat and stop and call you. Then you can just talk to it using voice.” 

Nadella demonstrated the functionality of the social chat bot at an AI event in London on Tuesday, according to The Verge, and said it has already made one million calls. The bot can also predict what someone will say next and then quickly respond. 

Microsoft has been looking to up its AI game. Earlier this week, the company acquired Semantic Machines, which focuses on conversational artificial intelligence. The purchase  is meant to boost not just the company’s digital voice assistant Cortana but also social chatbots like XiaoIce.

Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.