- Microsoft is rumored to reduce AI in Windows 11
- This includes reducing Copilot integration in the interface and core applications
- The recall could also be in line for major changes and could be renamed, with heavy hints that Microsoft is not happy with it at all.
Apparently, Microsoft is turning a new page with AI in Windows 11, after another page turned last week with a broad promise to fix the desktop operating system.
Windows Central says Microsoft is taking action on the strong pushback against AI as the company has increased its efforts to move forward with these features (including AI agents in Windows 11).
We’re told that, according to sources seen by our sister site, Microsoft is “reevaluating its AI strategy on Windows 11” and plans to remove some AI features where they don’t make sense.
This includes reducing the number of Copilot buttons in Windows 11’s interface or its default apps, as these have been liberally scattered in a not-so-subtle effort to promote the AI assistant. We’re specifically told that the Copilot integration found in the Notepad and Paint apps is currently under review for streamlining work.
There is also a freeze on adding additional Copilot buttons or features to other Windows 11 apps by default, although this is likely only a temporary measure.
The message is pretty clear, though, and for now, Microsoft is putting the brakes on its desire to incorporate more AI and more Copilot integration into Windows 11 and its core app library.
Another nugget of information here is Windows Central’s claim that Microsoft is also looking into the viability of the reminder feature – the Windows 11 in-depth research that leverages regularly taken screenshots. Apparently, even Microsoft believes that Recall has “failed” in its current form, although the software giant is looking for ways to evolve the concept rather than abandon it altogether.
This suggests that abandoning it altogether is still a possibility, but obviously not a preferred option. It seems entirely possible that at least the name could be changed and the feature transformed into something else.
Analysis: On the right track – but we need action, not words (or rumors)
We must obviously take all of this with a degree of caution, as with anything that is ultimately a rumor – even if it is probably well-informed, and entirely logical speculation.
As I mentioned at the beginning, last week Microsoft promised to fix bugs and performance issues with Windows 11, and this is somewhat related to AI. Because much of the bad feeling about AI being such a priority for Microsoft as it integrates an increasing number of these features into Windows 11 is that the company is doing it at the expense of the overall quality of the operating system. While the call for hate around AI took place late last year, Microsoft needs to fix the fundamentals of Windows 11 and abandon the obsession with developing as many AI-related features as possible.
And that’s exactly what Microsoft appears to be doing: fixing these fundamentals, as previously noted – which we’ve already seen evidence of, in fact – and mitigating the overzealous AI push.
In short, it looks like Microsoft is finally listening to users and taking action. Or, more precisely, I should say planning taking action – and actually implementing all of this is another thing that remains to be seen.
I still worry that Microsoft has gone into a defensive PR mode, so to speak, and is making all the noise necessary to fix Windows 11 – and giving in with AI Player, at least temporarily – but that it won’t amount to what it should. I’m not alone in this either, as many Windows 11 users express skeptical feelings in the usual online forums.
In this Reddit thread, the most upvoted comment, which matches my thoughts, is a simple statement: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Time will tell how this plays out, but what makes the case for something positive are the undeniable failures of Microsoft and Windows 11 in terms of public perception of the operating system. It’s pretty clear that something needs to be done, and I won’t tread the same ground I’ve covered over the past few months regarding the operating system’s reputation – and how, if it continues to bomb and trust in Microsoft erodes, how can autonomous AI agents really work in Windows 11? They won’t, because people won’t trust them, just like they don’t trust Recall.
Speaking of AI agents, don’t think Microsoft is backtracking on these entities. The overall “agent platform” vision for Windows 11 is still seen as the future, as is AI-driven semantic (natural language) search (the latter is one of AI’s strengths, after all).
However, at the very least, Microsoft now appears to be exercising more caution and has made some pretty clear promises about fixing Windows 11. Hopefully we’ll see the results of that – and the company take its foot off the gas in terms of pushing AI everywhere in Windows 11, if this new rumor is right – soon enough.
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