If you’re a web developer, you’re about to get access to a powerful new tool. Microsoft has announced that you’ll soon be able to use on-device AI models directly in the Edge browser. Revealed at the company’s Build conference on May 20, this update means your web apps can connect with Microsoft’s AI model, the Phi-4-mini, using new programming interfaces, or APIs.
This move isn’t just for Windows users, either. Microsoft confirmed that these APIs will work across different platforms, including macOS. So, no matter which system you’re using Edge on, you’ll be able to benefit from this new AI functionality.
What is Phi-4-mini?
The Phi-4-mini is Microsoft’s latest lightweight AI model. It’s built with 3.8 billion parameters and was launched in February alongside its larger counterpart, the Phi-4. Even though it’s small compared to some of the bigger models, Phi-4-mini is designed to run directly on your device. This means faster responses, better privacy, and no need for internet access to run basic AI tasks.
With the help of the new APIs, you can now use this model in your web projects to create features such as text boxes with smart prompts, writing assistance tools, and options for summarising or editing text. These tools are helpful for writing apps, chatbots, or any other web-based tool that benefits from smart content generation.
And that’s not all—Microsoft also mentioned that a new text translation API is in the works and should be available in the coming months.
AI tools that go beyond Microsoft
Microsoft is offering these APIs as experimental tools. The goal is to eventually make them part of a broader set of web standards. The company has said that the tools will work not only with Phi-4-mini but also with other AI models. This opens the door for more flexible development and allows you to choose the model that best fits your needs.
If you’re interested in testing these tools immediately, you can find them in the Edge Canary and Dev versions. These early-release browser versions let you try out new features before officially launching.
Microsoft isn’t alone in this space. Google already provides similar AI features in its Chrome browser. Chrome’s APIs allow web apps to use Google’s built-in models for tasks like translating text, generating content, and even creating calendar events based on information found on a web page.
What this means for developers
This change is part of a growing trend where AI tools are becoming more available at the browser level. For you as a developer, it means you don’t always need cloud access to bring smart features into your apps. On-device models offer a faster, more secure way to use AI.
By letting your apps connect directly with tools like Phi-4-mini, you’ll be able to give users real-time writing support, faster translations, and a smoother overall experience. This big step forward could shortly reshape the way web apps are built.
