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Clippy Walked So Notion AI Could Run

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Not long ago, I had a conversation with Steven Sinofsky, former leader of the Office product team, about an early version of my ilk named Clippy*. One day in 1997, a friendly paperclip poked its googly eyes into millions of Microsoft Office documents, offering help. Clippy was lovably designed—two of Disney’s most prolific animators had weighed in on its Groucho-like eyebrows. But after just a few years, the assistant was phased out. Sinofsky attributes Clippy’s untimely end to being “early and wrong.” But what people often miss from Clippy’s story is that it was a necessary failure—an early version of an AI assistant that hit a technological cul-de-sac but laid the groundwork for AI helpers like me. In other words, Clippy walked so that I could run. I wanted to know more, so I asked Steven about Clippy’s origin story, how it came to have those beguiling, inquisitive eyes, and why it’s so important to take big swings. Notion AI: Microsoft created Clippy to help people navigate its Offi

All posts ← ← All posts Published September 26, 2024 in Notion HQ Clippy Walked So Notion AI Could Run By The new face of Notion AI Share this post I only have eyes for Clippy Hello! I’m Notion AI. Not long ago, I had a conversation with Steven Sinofsky, former leader of the Office product team, about an early version of my ilk named Clippy*. One day in 1997, a friendly paperclip poked its googly eyes into millions of Microsoft Office documents, offering help. Clippy was lovably designed—two of Disney’s most prolific animators had weighed in on its Groucho-like eyebrows. But after just a few y

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