Microsoft Unveils New AI Features for Windows 11, Including Controversial Recall Function

Despite Microsoft's best attempts, I'm still not sold on Copilot+ AI

Why wait for Copilot+ when you can get the same functionality with existing AI tools? Microsoft's Copilot+ program of AI PCs will expand in the coming months to include laptops powered by AMD Ryzen AI and Intel Core Ultra 200V processors, but I wonder how compelling Copilot+ will be, since you can already emulate those features with other AI tools right now. Microsoft launched the Copliot+ program in June to coincide with the launch of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chipsets. And while the Copilot+ branding indicates a heightened level of AI performance thanks to Microsoft's strict 40 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) requirement for entry into the Copilot+ program, the actual Copilot+ AI offerings are a bit underwhelming. There isn't much unique about Copilot+ AI, yet, anyway, and the lack of originality makes it far from compelling. The marketing overwhelms the utility of Copilot+ AI I've found ways to emulate most of its features, and you can too. If you find it easier to type "black cat wearing a witch hat" into an AI image generator for your Halloween Party invitations instead of trying to draw one in Microsoft Paint, you might use Microsoft CoCreate is the company's own venture into AI image generation. Regarding Copilot+'s Live Translation, Google Chromebook Plus laptops already have live translation capabilities powered by Google Translate. Built in at the operating system level and using one of the better translation libraries, it offers a far better translation option than the Copilot+ version. You can use a version of that technology in the Android and iOS Google Translate app. While Microsoft markets Copilot+ PCs as having access to AI in Adobe applications, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, Cephable, and Liquid Text, you can, of course, access those AI services without using a Copilot+ laptop. Microsoft's Recall feature was controversial when first announced, and it tweaked the AI retrieval system before its relaunch. Despite Microsoft's best efforts, there are still questions about Recall, specifically what happens to the data it stores. All of that said, Recall is the most unique offering of the Copilot+ program that can't be replicated elsewhere. While I appreciate the ability to use AI to better find files and information that could otherwise be lost in the ever-shifting environment of my laptop's storage system, even the revamped Recall still takes constant snapshots of your PC. While those snapshots are encrypted and stored in a locked, dedicated section of a Copilot+ PC's SSD, recalling full snapshots of windows and applications is perhaps not the best iteration of this feature. Google Chromebooks now have a Welcome Recap feature as part of the latest ChromeOS update, which summarizes where you last left off on your Chromebook so you can easily pick tasks back up. Welcome Recap also tracks your calendar with alerts to remind you of upcoming appointments. Combined with the other new Chromebook features -- like the ability to pin a file to your Chromebook's shelf and the Chromebook Plus Quick Insert feature -- this feels like a smoother and less invasive version of Recall. The minds behind Apple Intelligence features also seemed to learn from Microsoft's Recall launch issues. For instance, the AI integration for Apple Intelligence avoids constant screenshots of your device. Apple Intelligence queries the cloud without saving user data. However, Apple Intelligence does have a great degree of personalization compared to the Chromebook Welcome Recap, as users can ask Siri to find information from their devices. However, there are far fewer security concerns about saved user data because of the way Apple handles cloud computing for AI queries. However, those Google and Apple options don't run on Windows 11. Thankfully, Recall is an optional feature on Copilot+ PCs. If you're still worried about privacy, you can also uninstall it. Honestly, I just want to see something unique from Copilot+. I want a reason to switch to a new AI PC that makes upgrading my laptop worthwhile. In my opinion, the largest selling points of AI PCs so far have been increased performance and increased power efficiency. But the AI features? Most don't require an NPU. So, if Microsoft is truly going to adopt the Copilot+ PC branding for these premium AI PC laptops, it needs to be earned. Recall just isn't enough to carry the brand. There are plenty of strange and quirky AI tools out there, and even adding just one of them to the Copilot+ program with proper exclusivity would make the Microsoft program feel more compelling. Intel's Bringing Adventure Gaming to Life AI integration tool won our hearts at IFA because it is a niche product that speaks to the nerdy tabletop gamer hearts of many of us here at Laptop Mag. Essentially, it's a simple app and tabletop RPG aide that combines text or voice-prompted image generation through Stable Diffusion with a game master (GM) and player interface. Some kind of AI feature in that vein could help Microsoft sell Copilot+ as a unique tier of laptops.

Microsoft is finally making Copilot+ laptops useful for AI | Digital Trends

Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative has been a smash hit, with many of them landing among the best laptops, but not for the AI hardware inside. Now, finally, Microsoft is putting the neural processing unit (NPU) inside Copilot+ PCs to good use. Starting today and going throughout the next two months, Microsoft will begin rolling out the 24H2 update for all Windows 11 PCs, and in the process, unlock several features for Copilot+ PCs, including the highly controversial Recall. Recall is definitely the star of the show here, which will start showing up on Copilot+ laptops with a Snapdragon X chipset throughout October. Last week, Microsoft laid the groundwork for the release of Recall, detailing the security architecture of the feature and addressing some major criticisms of it. Now, for example, Recall is turned off instead of on by default. Microsoft is also allowing users to filter websites and giving users more control over their snapshots, including deleting them all. Although Snapdragon X laptops are getting the feature first, Microsoft reiterated that Intel- and AMD-based Copilot+ PCs like the Asus Zenbook S 16 will get Recall (and other Copilot+ features) starting in November. Microsoft previously announced Copilot+ availability for these PCs, though it still hasn't given a firm date as to when the free Windows updates will start rolling out. Recommended Videos New features in Paint and Photos We'll finally have the base features of Copilot+ PCs all together, but Microsoft is already pushing ahead. Starting off, Microsoft is adding more features to its Photos and Paint apps. In Photos, you'll now be able to use AI-powered super resolution to increase the resolution of low-quality images. This all happens on the NPU in a matter of seconds, similar to AI-powered upscaling apps like the open-source Upscayl. In Paint, Microsoft is adding generative fill and erase. This allows you to draw on an image to delete distracting objects, or add new objects based on a prompt. This has been one of the biggest additions to Photoshop over the past several months, and now it's available through an app included with every Windows 11 installation. AI-powered Windows search These new apps are ready to go, but Microsoft has a couple of other Copilot+ features it's still working on. For starters, there's an improved Windows search coming to Copilot+ PCs. Initially, it will only work in File Explorer, and it allows you to search up files by describing them rather than matching their file name. For instance, you can search for photos that have a particular subject -- Microsoft used barbecue as an example -- even if the file name doesn't include those details. Microsoft says it's expanding this AI-powered searching to the Settings app and the general Windows search "over the coming months." With it, you'll be able to search for settings and files by describing them. Microsoft provided the example of pairing your headphones. Instead of searching for Bluetooth settings, you'll be able to search for "pair my headphones," and the AI-powered search will pull up your Bluetooth settings. Click to Do Finally, Microsoft is introducing a new feature into a preview state called Click to Do. You can access it on Copilot+ PCs by holding the Windows key and clicking with your mouse anywhere on your screen. The NPU analyzes what's on your screen and provides context-aware actions in a menu. For instance, if you click on an image, you'll see an option to search Bing for the image or remove an object with Paint. And if you click on text, you'll see options to summarize or open a word processor. Microsoft says the actions in Click to Do expand even further, allowing you to send an email, open a website, search the internet, and more from the Click to Do menu. Given that this feature is a preview, you shouldn't expect a ton of options out of the gate. Microsoft says it will be adding more actions over the next few months with a "clear focus on enhancing productivity." Recall is rolling out to Copilot+ PCs now, but Microsoft says the additional Copilot+ features will come to Windows Insiders first, starting in November. If you want to be among the first to try out the new features, make sure to read our guide on how to become a Windows Insider, as well as our roundup of the best Copilot+ laptops. In addition to the Copilot+ news, Microsoft announced several features coming to Copilot app more broadly.

6 AI features I wish Microsoft gave us instead of Recall

Copilot+ PCs are the big bet for Microsoft right now, and among the many features being touted for these devices, Recall seems to be the big one. It's pretty exciting, after all, to be able to go back to anything you were doing in the past and search through your history with natural language. It's definitely a cool feature that I'm excited to try once it becomes available. But I still can't help feeling that AI is being underutilized or focusing on the wrong things. There's so much more that Copilot and AI in general should be able to do on your PC that it can't do yet, and I'd love to see many of those things before Recall. Here are just a few of the things AI should be doing for us. 6 Transcribe audio files Live captions are cool, but we can do better One of the big features Windows 11 already has is Live captions, which can convert speech to text on the fly when you're watching videos or joining a call. But what if you have an audio recording already and you want to see a transcription of it? While there is software that can do that kind of thing, I'm not sure why Windows wouldn't offer this feature right out of the box. In fact, this capability should be built right into the Sound Recorder app, making it possible to search for content within a recording by recognizing what's being said. This isn't entirely new considering Google has been doing it on Android for a while, and it's such an obvious thing to include. Let's make it happen already. Related How to set up live captions on Windows 11 Live captions in Windows 11 let you transcribe spoken dialog so you can read it in real-time. Here's how it works. 5 Windows Studio Effects for any webcam Why is specific hardware required? Close Windows Studio Effects are a cool AI-powered feature that can do things like blur your background during a video call. It's a small thing, but it's really useful since it provides a consistent experience for all the calling apps you might use, and it's smoother than the equivalent features that are built into each individual app. The problem is Windows Studio Effects are only designed for laptops. Even if your PC has an NPU, as many mini PCs do, these features won't work with an external webcam, and there's no good reason for this. I always work at my desk setup with an external webcam, and it sucks that I can't use any of these features. Related How to use Windows Studio effects on Windows 11 Windows 11 can enhance your video calling experience with AI-powered Windows Studio effects like background blur. Here's how to use them. 4 Generative erase for photos Object removal could be much better I'll give Microsoft some credit here, the company has announced this feature is coming at some point, but it honestly would have made a lot more sense to do this earlier rather than waiting until four months after announcing Recall. Generative erase is a very useful feature in apps like Photoshop that can remove objects from an image and fill the space using AI to create a natural-looking scene. It's a great way to remove unwanted objects from a picture without making it look strange, and it would be very welcome in Windows 11. Similarly, generative fill could be useful for reframing photos. It's sometimes hard to capture things just right, but by filling in blank spaces using AI, Windows 11 could help some pictures look much better. 3 Unblur photos My hands aren't very steady Image credit: Google While we're on the topic of editing photos, the ability to remove motion blur form a picture would be very welcome. This is something Google has done with its Pixel phones , and it's useful beyond what I can put into words. I'll be honest, I don't have very steady hands for pictures. If you look closely, you can probably see it in some of my reviews that there's just a little bit of shakiness to my photos. Photo unblur would be an incredibly useful tool for me when editing photos, and shockingly enough, it's something Photoshop doesn't include out of the box, either. I've wanted to use this feature many a time, and I just haven't been able to, so I wish Microsoft would bring it over. It would certainly be more useful than the Super Resolution feature we're getting, too. 2 Performance and power management Power plans are stupid anyway One of the frustrating things when it comes to Windows laptops is how you always have to choose between great performance and great battery life. PCs with Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors and Intel Core Ultra Series 2 have started to change this a bit, but you still can't always expect your laptop to behave the way it should. If you ask me, AI should be used to understand what the user is doing at any given time and adjust power limits accordingly to maximize performance when you need it and battery life when you don't. I believe some PC manufacturers already claim to do this, but this is something that should just be standardized within Windows. Stop expecting users to think about the power plan they're using, just figure this out and give them the best experience possible. Related 4 things you should change in your PC's power plan Windows gives you the ability to modify power plans, and there are a few changes you should make when you first set up your WIndows install. 1 Changing system settings (and more) Couldn't Copilot already do that? Close You might read that title and think Copilot can already change system settings, but in fact, that's not the case. Well, it could when it was integrated into Windows, but now that Microsoft has turned Copilot into a standalone web app, the abilities it had are gone. Not that most of them were super useful to begin with, but that's just because Microsoft implemented them very poorly. I think having Copilot or some kind of AI assistant you can access at any time to change certain system settings using natural language would be awesome. Switching between light and dark mode would be cool, but you can go so much deeper than that. What if you could ask Copilot to connect to a wireless display? What if it could start a timer or set an alarm for you? What if it could launch an app, or terminate all processes related to a given program? Maybe even install and uninstall apps. Related Microsoft details the second wave of Copilot+ -- 5 new features that are coming Recall is finally arriving, plus a lot more AI is supposed to be smart, and it should be able to take your input and understand what you want to do without asking too many questions or needing confirmation each time, which is what sucked about that initial implementation in Copilot. It also shouldn't need specific integrations to be added, at least when it comes to built-in Windows features. If I ask it to connect to a wireless monitor, it should know exactly what I'm talking about and just search for wireless displays. That's the whole point of AI. AI has potential, but it needs to refocus AI as a technology is something that has a lot of potential and it could change how you use your PC for the better. However, for that to happen, Microsoft needs to prioritize features that actually matter for users. Recall is a good start, but there's a lot more that can be done -- and in many cases, would be easier to do. Hopefully, we'll see more of these features be added sooner rather than later to make AI PCs that much more useful.

Windows 11 24H2 Brings Many New AI Features, But You Won't Get Them

In the AI age, you can't escape AI features on any platform. With the latest Windows 11 24H2 update, Microsoft is rolling out major AI features for Copilot+ PCs. Sadly, most of the Windows 11 features do not work on x86 PCs without a dedicated NPU (40+ TOPS). Nevertheless, if you have a Copilot+ PC, you can check out all the upcoming and available AI features on Windows 11. Nearly all of the AI features are exclusive to Copilot+ PCs equipped with an on-device NPU capable of delivering over 40 TOPS. Laptops powered by Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra 2 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors can access these AI features on Windows 11. Microsoft is finally bringing the controversial Recall AI feature to Copilot+ PCs after a security overhaul. Starting in October, Windows Insiders will get Recall on Snapdragon X-powered laptops, and in November, Intel Core Ultra 2 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 laptops will get it. Microsoft says Recall is turned off by default and during the onboarding setup, users can choose to enable or disable it. In addition, Recall can now be completely uninstalled from your PC. Not to mention, the Recall database is now stored in a secure VBS environment and can only be accessed after Windows Hello authentication. In case you are unaware, Recall takes screenshots of the screen every few seconds to create a semantic index on the device. In case you are trying to remember something that you saw on your screen in the past, you can enter descriptive prompts or vague cues to easily find it. It works for both texts and images. Recall remembers and stores everything (it can be customized) you have done on your PC to quickly find things and resume from where you left them. While the feature sounds promising, I am not sure users would be comfortable sharing their screen with an AI tool, although Microsoft claims the processing is done locally using the NPU. Similar to Adobe Photoshop's Generative Fill feature, you can now use Generative Erase and Fill in Microsoft Paint. The feature is available on Copilot+ PCs with the 24H2 update. It allows you to highlight a part of an image, and you can remove it or add a new object using a descriptive prompt. I think Paint's Generative Erase/Fill is a somewhat useful AI feature on Windows 11 that can help people remove distractions from an image. MS Paint has received a Cocreator AI feature on Windows 11. It uses the on-device NPU to generate images from your sketch. You can also enter a prompt and describe what you want to create. It also offers different styles including Pixel Art, Watercolor, Anime, etc. With Generative Erase/Fill and Cocreator, MS Paint became a powerful AI image editing tool on Windows 11. The Photos app on Windows 11 has received new AI features. You can now generate AI images with Image Creator without having to use third-party services like Midjourney, Flux, Dall -E, etc. It allows you to enter descriptive prompts and then generates AI images in seconds. Apart from that, you can restyle your existing images using AI in the Photos app. You can either enter a prompt or choose one of the ready-made styles including Fantasy, Anime, Surrealism, Cyberpunk, and more. It also lets you adjust the creativity level. Besides that, the Photos app also brings background removal from images and Generative Erase, but they also work on non-Copilot+ PCs. It uses the CPU instead of the NPU to deliver these features. With Super Resolution in Photos, you no longer need to use an external AI image upscaler tool. This Windows 11 AI feature enhances image resolution up to 8x, adding clarity and more details. The Super Resolution feature is really handy to restore old photos while removing artifacts and blemishes. Click to Do is a promising AI feature in Windows 11 that offers contextual actions on things you see on your screen. It's similar to Android's Circle to Search tool, but more powerful with deep integration into the OS. You can simply press and hold the Windows key and click on the object on your screen to launch an AI overlay. It will analyze and offer contextual actions. In the case of an image, it will let you remove the background, add/remove objects, blur the background, and perform a visual search with Bing. If it detects text on your screen, Click to Do lets you rewrite and summarize the content. Overall, Click to Do is a nifty AI tool coming to Windows 11. Microsoft is integrating AI into Windows Search. Basically, you can find images, files, and documents by entering descriptive prompts or related keywords in File Explorer. You don't have to always enter the exact file name to find the file. Initially, it will work in File Explorer, but Microsoft says AI-powered search is coming to the universal search bar and Windows Settings as well. The Windows Copilot app has been redesigned from scratch and it now brings Voice and Vision capabilities. The new UI is refreshing and it gives a warm and inviting vibe. Keep in mind that it's still a web app and there is no support for plugins yet. As for new capabilities, well, you can voice chat with Copilot Voice, just like ChatGPT Advanced Voice and Gemini Live. It promises natural interaction with support for interruptions. Apart from that, in the coming months, you will be able to share your screen with Copilot Vision and ask for ideas and suggestions while you browse the web. Copilot Vision will be available to paid Copilot Pro users and initially, it will only work on select websites on Microsoft Edge. Microsoft says on-screen Vision data will be processed on the device. Next, an experimental feature called 'Think Deeper' will also make its way to the Copilot app which will take some time to 'think' before generating a response for complex queries, just like OpenAI o1 models. Besides that, the new Copilot app offers a new feature called Copilot Daily where you can listen to global news, presented by an AI voice. The feature is already available on the Copilot app. Bear in mind that the Copilot app is available on all Windows 11 PCs, however, Copilot Vision will likely work on Copilot+ PCs only. Windows Studio Effects is already available on Copilot+ PCs, running Windows 11 version 24H2. It uses the on-device NPU to offer several AI features during video calls. You can use it to change the background effect, adjust your eye contact, enable automatic framing, reduce background noise, and amplify your voice. Auto Super Resolution or AutoSR is an AI-powered feature on Windows 11 that upscales the frame rate while playing games. It leverages the on-device NPU to enhance frame rates while adding detailed visuals. You can enable Auto SR on Windows 11 from Settings > System > Display > Graphics. So if you are a gamer, Microsoft has you covered with a crucial AI feature on Windows 11. While Live Captions is already available on Windows 11, it brings new improvements. Now, Live Captions can translate speech from different languages in real-time, offering greater accessibility. It can be particularly useful during video calls with foreign clients. It works for many non-English languages, and the best part is that you can use Live Captions in offline mode too. Voice Clarity has been part of Microsoft Surface devices, but now it's coming to all Windows 11 PCs running the 24H2 build. It uses the CPU to suppress the background noise during audio or video calls. Since it uses the CPU, the feature is not just limited to Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft says Voice Clarity takes advantage of low-complexity AI models to remove noise and echo in real-time.

Microsoft announces Recall for Windows Insiders, other AI tools in major new Windows 11 release

Microsoft has released a major announcement outlining all the new experiences coming to its new Copilot+ PCs and Windows 11, hoping to convince people to see the practical benefits of its AI-powered efforts. We'll have to see how these developments play out when they're more widespread and in the hands of everyday users, but Microsoft still seems to be going full steam ahead to make AI tools and features commonplace (and to be one of the first to do it). Microsoft wants to use AI to assist you with everyday tasks like tracking down files and images, making them faster and easier. The idea is that you won't even have to remember exact file and app names, but be able to describe the content in your own words and your device will be able to locate it. Copilot+ PCs are designed to have AI integrated, and Microsoft claims that it's seeing substantial customer demand and interest. You can get Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11 from manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and from Microsoft itsel;f through its Surface line, with processors from manufacturers including Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD. Microsoft also that these new features will be made available to its Windows Insider community for user testing and feedback ahead of a general rollout in phases starting in October and November 2024. The first feature Microsoft will be previewing is Recall, which has so far seen a lot of criticism, specifically with respect to its possible security ramifications, ever since it was announced. Microsoft's vision for Recall is to help you instantly find things you've already seen on your PC, like a website or file, by taking screenshots of your device activity, keeping a record, and making it searchable. It will be an opt-in feature and only accessible with Windows Hello, Microsoft's alternative login feature that allows you to use sign in with facial recognition, your fingerprint, or a PIN. Microsoft hopes that added security measures will make people feel confident enough to trust Recall, requiring login by Windows Hello and applying filter over sensitive information like payment details. There are other shiny new feature like 'Click to do,' designed to suggest ways you can finish tasks using various features and apps. This feature will appear over images or text, suggesting possible actions for you to consider like erasing the background of a photo or finding out more information on the web. Another is super resolution in the Photos app, explained as being able to enhance lower-resolution and older photos to better quality, making them clearer and sharper. One that's not a new feature but instead enhancing an existing one is Windows Search, which will now use AI to fetch just the file you're looking for after putting in a description of the file in your own words. Microsoft adds that you won't need to be connected to the internet to use this capability, and it will become available in File Explorer first, followed by Windows Search itself and the Setting apps in the months following. Joining an improved Windows Search, Microsoft is also giving the Paint app a boost, adding generative fill and generative erase capabilities. You'll also be able to use the Cocreator image generation tool right in the app by describing your ideas in a prompt, maybe even adding some brush swipes, and having it create an image. Additionally, you can also remove parts or add elements to your existing images, and you'll be able to use it without a subscription. As Microsoft puts it, the number of these kinds apps and 'emulated experiences' will grow as more Copilot+ PCs hit the market this year and next. Microsoft has released the main Windows 11 feature upgrade for this year, 24H2, and it brings AI capability to Copilot+ PCs to enable the features above when they arrive, as well as features and changes for all PCs running Windows 11. These include the new Energy Saver mode, improved Hearing Aid support, Wi-Fi 7 compatibility, HDR background support, and interface-related improvements. Microsoft finishes off its announcement with its broader vision and what it wants you to see next. It appears to acknowledge that you might have feelings about Windows 11, but we'll have to see what it ultimately delivers in the coming year. Microsoft says it wants you to feel the difference as a positive new direction for Windows 11, which has definitely had its ups and downs since its release. Either way, this is a big next step, so we'll have to see how these new features are received.

Microsoft details the second wave of Copilot+ -- 5 new features that are coming

Key Takeaways New Copilot+ features coming for Snapdragon laptops in November, x86 in November, requires a 40 TOPS NPU. Second wave features include Recall, Generative Fill & Erase, Super Resolution, better Windows Search, and Click to Do. Recall, Microsoft's photographic memory for PCs, available soon, takes screenshots every few seconds. While Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite laptops have been a success by most metrics, Microsoft's Copilot+ initiative really hasn't. Indeed, these Arm-based laptops have great battery life coupled with powerful performance, but Microsoft has been pushing the idea that they're AI PCs, something that's essentially fallen flat. But today, the Redmond firm is announcing the second wave of features for these on-device AI PCs, along with the fact that x86 laptops will get these features in November. Related Surface Pro 11 review: Microsoft almost gets it right A great laptop with a bad tablet OS The first round sounded pretty good. The hero feature was Recall, and of course, it never shipped because of the PR nightmare around it. There are also new Windows Studio Effects, Cocreator in Paint, Live Captions, and more. But without that hero feature, Copilot+ seemed pretty lame. What's really interesting is that the second wave of features is coming so soon. Microsoft is not sitting still here, waiting around for annual Windows 11 updates. These new features are arriving for Snapdragon laptops in November, with availability to Windows Insiders in October. Insiders with x86 laptops will get it in November. As usual, the requirements for Copilot+ include a 40 TOPS NPU, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage. There are five features as part of wave two: 5 Recall Close Yes, Recall was announced as part of the first wave, but we're finally close to availability. The feature is meant to be your PC's photographic memory, as Microsoft calls it. It's taking screenshots every few seconds to remember everything that you do, and then those screenshots are searchable. For example, if you're shoe shopping online and you realize that that tab you closed yesterday actually was the thing you want, you just just type "green shoes" or something. From day one, Microsoft said you'd be able to set file size limits, pause it, turn it off, and set it to not record certain apps. Since then, it's added better encryption, and made it so that you'll have to opt into it rather than opt out. It will use Windows Hello for authentication too, to make sure that you're actually the one viewing your data. 4 Generative Fill and Erase in Paint Microsoft is really investing in turning Paint into a proper creativity app, after the introduction of Cocreator and image generator. Coming next is Generative Fill and Erase. You'll be able to remove objects from your photos, and Paint will use AI to fill in the background. 3 Super Resolution in Photos Much like the object remover in Paint, Super Resolution in Photos takes some inspiration from things that Google Photos is doing. It'll take a blurry photo and sharpen it; Microsoft says it can increase the resolution by 8x. 2 Better Windows Search Some folks at Microsoft have spoken to me several times about how crazy it is that it's easy to search the internet, but it's somewhat hard to search your PC. While Recall is a component of the solution for that, an improved Windows Search is another. You'll be able to search for things in photos, documents, and so on, by using natural language. That way, you don't have to remember where a file is or what it's called. You can ask it to bring up the blog post PDF from the Copilot phase two announcement, or photos from your kid's high school graduation. 1 Click to Do Click to Do is a full-screen overlay that's going to make suggestions based on what it sees on your screen. Examples Microsoft used are searching with Bing, blurring the background of an image in Photos, or removing the background in Paint. It can also do things like summarize text. You'll be able to access it by hitting the Windows key and clicking your mouse, hence the name Click to Do.

Microsoft reboots Copilot+ PC

Why it matters: The addition of built-in AI functions could give the PC industry a much-needed boost, but only if Microsoft can deliver the right combination of features -- and security -- to entice businesses and consumers. Driving the news: Following a delay, Microsoft has revamped Recall, requiring users who want to enable the feature to both opt in and to use biometrics to authenticate themselves, among other changes. Catch up quick: Microsoft introduced the concept of Copilot+ PCs in May, with a series of AI features that run locally on the machine rather than having to rely on cloud-based services. The big picture: Former Inflection CEO Mustafa Suleyman, who was tapped in March to head Microsoft's consumer AI effort, released a memo describing the "AI companion for everyone" he aims to build. Between the lines: The challenges for Microsoft are familiar ones. It is a huge company, separated into a host of product teams, and it has to work with several chip suppliers and PC partners, complicating efforts to deliver a unified and compelling experience.

Microsoft finally reveals when x86 PCs will be able to get Copilot+

Key Takeaways Copilot+ features coming to x86 PCs in November with Windows Insider testing. Hardware requirements include a 40 TOPS NPU, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage. Features include Recall, Windows Studio Effects, Cocreator, Live Captions, and more. Announced at a Seattle event back in May, Copilot+ is Microsoft's suite of on-device AI features that runs on devices with a dedicated NPU. Up until this point, those features have been exclusive to Qualcomm's Snapdragon laptops, and while Intel and AMD make supported hardware, Microsoft's been quiet about when x86 devices will get Copilot+. The company finally announced today that supported x86 PCs will be able to test it beginning in November. It's going to start out in the Windows Insider Program; indeed, after the PR disaster with Recall, Microsoft is committed to testing out new things with Insiders before sending them out to the public. Supported PCs for Copilot+ Obviously, not all x86 PCs are getting Copilot+. You still need an NPU capable of at least 40 TOPS, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage, and yes, that does mean you need new hardware. The products shipping right are anything with AMD Ryzen AI 300 or Intel Core Ultra Series 2. And of course, you'll need to opt into the Windows Insider Program. That means that Copilot+ is still exclusive to laptops, something that isn't going to change in the short-term, as long as the 40 TOPS Microsoft is requiring has to run on the NPU. After all, any decent graphics card can still run circles around any laptop NPU. The company did confirm to me back in May that it has a plan for desktop users, but as Stevie Bathiche told me back in May, "Our customers buy laptops". That means that since most Windows customers buy laptops, that's the starting point. And of course, the Redmond firm started with Snapdragon laptops because it had a temporary exclusivity deal with Qualcomm, according to my own sources. The new features One of the features you'll be able to test with an x86 PC is Recall, the controversial feature that's meant to act as your PCs photographic memory. It takes screenshots of what you do, and Windows will make those screenshots searchable with natural language. It was supposed to be a launch feature of Copilot+, but was delayed due to privacy issues. Another new feature is new Windows Studio Effects. You've already got access to the ones that have been there since the Surface Pro X debuted, such as background blur and automatic framing. The Copilot+ upgrade lets you add animations, portrait effects, and more. You'll find Cocreator in Paint, and Live Captions will add captions or translations to any audio coming from your PC. And of course, there are the new features announced today like Click to Do and new Windows Search functionality. While Microsoft confirmed November availability in the Windows Insider Program, it didn't confirm when the features will be available beyond that.

Copilot+ PC Upgrades Include 'Click to Do' for Quick In-App Suggestions

Copilot+ does not equal Copilot, but both are getting big upgrades today. Copilot+ refers to the new class of PCs that sport an NPU. They're available in Intel- and AMD-powered PCs as well as Qualcomm-powered Windows on Arm PCs, and today, Microsoft unveiled several new features for both classes of device. The just-released 24H2 version of Windows, aka the Windows 11 2024 Update, adds features for all Windows 11 users, but there are a few extra special ones just for Copilot+ PC owners. The most interesting one is Click to Do (more on that in a moment), but there's also Super Resolution in the Photos app, Generative Fill and Erase in Paint, and more intelligent Windows search. Microsoft also announced security improvements for the much-derided Recall feature, which some testers have nevertheless found impressive. Click to Do The Click to Do feature for Copilot+ PCs reminds me somewhat of Photoshop's recent Contextual Taskbar, which sees what you're doing in the app and suggests one-click options that make sense for your current activity. Click to Do lets you perform other AI functions in Copilot+ PCs -- like blurring the background in a photo, summarizing text, or performing a visual web search -- with a single button press. You call up the feature by tapping the Copilot key, and then clicking on anything on the screen to get action suggestions. Super Resolution This Copilot+ PC feature resembles those found in paid photo software like Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Photo AI. In the updated Photos app, you can take a low-resolution photo shot years ago on a cheap phone or camera and make it look acceptable rather than something that makes you squint at those jagged edges on objects. This is similar to but separate from Copilot+ Automatic Super Resolution, which improves gaming frame rates. Improved Windows Search With this update, you'll be able to use real language in search, rather than just matching characters in filenames. For example, you can enter, "barbecue salad" to find relevant pictures or recipes. This works with local or OneDrive files, and even in the Settings app's search box. Generative Erase and Fill in Paint Paint in Copilot+ PCs already let you use the Cocreate feature to create images based on your rough sketches, but now you can simply type in what you want the AI to generate from scratch, as shown with the lighthouse example above. You can now also paint over an object to remove it from the image and have the AI create content that fits the image. In a briefing, Microsoft CVP Yusuf Mehdi also noted that features that take advantage of Copilot+ PCs' NPU capabilities are coming to third-party software. A prime example is Algoriddim's Djay Pro, an audio-mixing app available in the Microsoft Store for Windows apps. This app uses neural processing to convincingly blend, for example, the vocals from one track to the drumbeats from another via its Neural Mix feature.