- Microsoft is testing AI-powered search for Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs.
- The new feature allows users to search for local files using simple language.
- Microsoft is also testing AI-powered “Click to Do” rewriting tools.
Microsoft is testing an AI-powered search feature for Windows 11 that promises to end the days of having to properly organize and name your files to find them later. Currently only available to testers with Copilot+ PCs, this new search tool uses semantic indexing to locate files with a conversational touch.
So instead of racking your brain for specific file names, you can now enter simple queries like “Where is the presentation I gave last week?” Hopefully the AI will find it.
The feature works in Settings, File Explorer and the Taskbar, covering standard file formats for images, documents and spreadsheets. Since it relies on built-in AI models, no internet connection is required. That said, search will only work in the locations you have chosen to index. You can index everything by switching to the new “enhanced” mode, but this may require more trust in Microsoft than is comfortable.
Still, for those who feel like their digital lives are scattered between desktops, downloads and who knows where, the feature will definitely come in handy, even if it’s limited to desktop for now. This means you can’t yet search your OneDrive files stored in the cloud, although Microsoft says this feature is on the way. Still, if you’re not on a Copilot Plus machine, you’re out of luck at the moment.
Copilot+
This feature is a logical extension of Microsoft’s AI program, which aims to integrate AI tools into the company’s products. On Copilot+ PCs, these tools include other features currently being tested, like Click to Do, which allows users to perform AI-powered tasks with a simple keyboard and mouse shortcut. Simply highlight a piece of text, hold down the Windows key, and click to access a menu of options, including “Rewrite” and “Refine” grammar correction.
Microsoft’s AI ambitions are clearly aimed at making people’s lives easier, provided you’ve invested in the right hardware. Moving from rigid controls to a more human approach has obvious appeal. The days of typing exact file names or endless keywords may be numbered. And between helping you research your PowerPoint presentation and helping you write it, it’s a relatively small step.
Whether this is the flagship app that gets people to buy a Copilot+ PC like Microsoft wants is still debatable. But if it can save you from renaming files with “final_final_v2” for the millionth time, it might be worth it.
