Microsoft is Testing AI-powered Windows Search In a new dev channel build for Windows 11 Insider testers. announced in OctoberIt uses semantic indexing to let users search local files using more common language. Like other Microsoft AI features, you'll need a CoPilot Plus PC to use it.
This feature applies whether you're using the search box in Settings, File Explorer, or the taskbar. And you don't need to be connected to the Internet for it to work, thanks to the NPU chips on the CoPilot Plus computer. For now, AI search is limited to Windows settings and files with image and text formats including JPEG, PNG, PDF, TXT, and XLS.
Microsoft says that search only works for files in the locations you've chosen to index. Users can change those locations using the options found under Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Search, or turn on “Enhanced” to index your entire machine. The company says this feature will eventually be expanded to include cloud data stored in OneDrive.
AI-powered Windows Search “will gradually be rolled out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered CoPilot+ PCs,” writes Microsoft, with support for Intel or AMD CoPilot Plus computers later. The feature will work for machines set to Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish languages.
In addition to the new search, the build also includes the AI writing tools offered by Click to Do, a feature that lets you choose from a context-sensitive menu of options when you hold down the Windows key and left-click on your screen. Gives. Now, when you click on a block of text and select Rewrite, there is a “Refine” option that can correct the grammar for you.