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Comment by senko | Hacker News Reader

How is this clickbait?

Copilot, a software product created and named 7 years before GitHub came out with a different product using the same name, is shutting down.

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A story of Github copilot shutting down would be very unexpected, which is what made most people click.

I saw the "copilot.com" domain and an absence of the term "GitHub" and clicked with the assumption that it was not GitHub Copilot.

As did I.

Because 'Copilot' will (obviously) cause people to think GitHub Copilot. Nobody can seriously claim to think this is the most prominent 'Copilot' out there.

Github has something called Copilot? I never knew, even though I'm a paid github subscriber.

The old Fog Creek Copilot, that I know about from following Joel's blog.

Your bubble is not everyone's bubble.

> Your bubble is not everyone's bubble.

Search Google for 'copilot' and take peak outside your own bubble.

Google just reflects your bubble. DuckDuckGo top results:

    1. "CoPilot-Buy Smarter: Cars, SUVs, & Trucks" - some sort of Android app
    2. GitHub Copilot
    3. copilot.com - TLS thing
    4. CoPilot GPS (app)

So yeah, GH is an option, but it's hardly "the" meaning.

It would be interesting to find out if the fact that GitHub came out with Copilot, and effectively taking over the term for many users (such as yourself), contributed to Copilot's demise (eg. by speeding it up).

I now use a tool called Shortcut on a project. It used to be called Clubhouse until recently. Then (the other) Clubhouse became popular.

These things happen (through no ill intent on anyone's part), and can have substantive impact on the less popular products or sites.

Yeah I'm sure it can be brutal when a giant comes in to overshadow your brand.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=copilot gives:

- CoPilot Buy Smarter (copilot.app)

- GitHub Copilot (copilot.github.com)

- Copilot (copilotgps.com)

- Copilot (copilot.com)

- Copilot (copilot.search)

- Copilot (copilot.money)

- CoPilot (copilotai.com)

- CopilotIQ (copilotiq.com)

I searched copilot and got 5 different products back-to-back with the same name.

Yeah... but the point is which is the top one? And which gets called out in the info box?

https://imgur.com/a/JEGuiXk

I mean you don't have to take my word for it - see how many other comments there are here saying the same thing.

Agreed with this. It would be disingenuous to argue that Github's Copilot is not the most widely known one.

True but also highly context dependent, logged in/out, incognito, vpn, timezone, geography, os, recent searches of others on your network, neigherborhood etc all seem to influence what you see.

Well how would you prefer they make an announcement? "Copilot.com, no, not that one, don't worry, the one you've never heard of, is closing"?

A data point: I had never heard of either one before seeing this post.

While researching, I found a third copilot: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/copilot-the-smart-money-app/id...

Don't forget about the AWS copilot: https://aws.amazon.com/containers/copilot/

And these as well (having to do with aviation of all things):

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/miracheck-copilot/id1183839722

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/copilot-gps-navigation/id50467...

And these, 3dvideocopilot.net 401kcopilot.com advertisingcopilot.com agencecopilote.ch agentcopilot.com appcopilot.com beerismycopilot.com bicopilot.com bizcopilot.com campuscopilot.com caninecopilots.com cannabiscopilot.com ceacopilot.org cmcopilot.com cocopilots.com collegecopilot.com commercecopilot.com communicationscopilot.com copdcopilot.org copdcopilottraining.com copilot-auto.ro copilot-building.com copilot-consulting.com copilot-racetech.de copilot-ventures.de copilot.ai copilot.cc copilot.ch copilot.de copilot.eu copilot.fr copilot.ir copilot.it copilot.jp copilot.money copilot.org copilot.se copilot19.fr copilotacademy.com copilotalert.com copilotbuild.app copilotcreative.com copilotcrew.com.au copilotdating.com copilotdogoutfitters.com copilotdogtraining.com copilotdogwalks.com copilote-actu.com copilote-chr.fr copilote-logistique.fr copilote.be copilote.ch copilote.com

And more https://gist.github.com/alexyorke/4ee414e71c9abc473b04cf8561...

That's the one I thought this article was about.

Did you actually look at both? The article is about a remote support app and my link is to a spending and investment tracker. I'm pretty sure those are not the same thing.

> Nobody can seriously claim to think this is the most prominent 'Copilot' out there.

To be fair, no one is making that claim.

Whoever submitted it without any extra context must have thought it was unambiguous.

What would you have suggested instead? Adding a caveat doubling the length of the title? It’s the name of the linked post, all in line with the HN guidelines.

Calling it ”clickbait” when it is exactly what it says on the tin with no deception involved seems silly.

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