Microsoft announced plans to turn part of Windows 11's Task Bar into a chatbot-like search experience. Starting this fall, the Search Menu will allow users to carry out thousands of actions by typing short commands. During the company's fall Surface event, Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's executive vice president of Windows and Devices, demoed how the new search can quickly toggle settings like dark mode and do not disturb, and converse with the Copilot app without launching it separately. He said the interface is faster and more efficient, making it easier to find apps, settings, and files. For example, typing "increase mic volume" shows a volume slider above the prompt.
"To make AI a part of everyday life, we need to bring it to places people use the most," Davuluri said at the San Francisco event. Microsoft also announced Hybrid Intelligence, a suite of tools allowing PCs to run AI models locally. The Copilot app can access local files and take actions across apps and settings, using cloud inference only for the hardest tasks. For coding, it supports Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC) for security. Autopilot, Microsoft's personal AI agent, can now use local files to inform responses, demoed by helping an employee organize tax documents without sending data to the cloud. These features roll out over coming months.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing