Microsoft Agent

Microsoft Agent provided a COM-based conversational interface using animated characters, text-to-speech, and speech recognition for Windows 98 through Windows 7.

Launched in 1997, Microsoft Agent enabled developers to integrate interactive personalities like Peedy the Parrot and Merlin the Wizard into Win32 applications and web pages via ActiveX controls. It utilized the SAPI 4.0 engine for voice synthesis and commanded system resources through a dedicated server process (AgentSvr.exe). While often associated with the Office Assistant (Clippy), Agent offered deeper programmatic control for guided tours and notification systems until its official deprecation with the release of Windows 7 in 2009.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/ms699435(v=vs.85)