Microsoft has announced a temporary pause in the rollout of new Copilot features in Windows 11 to make further refinements based on user feedback. This decision was detailed in the company's latest Windows Insider blog posts, emphasising their commitment to improving these AI-driven functionalities.
For users who currently have the Copilot feature, it will continue to operate as expected while Microsoft works with Windows Insiders to refine and evolve new capabilities. This pause comes as Microsoft gears up for an AI event on May 20th, which is set to showcase future developments and innovations. Having declared 2024 “the year of the AI PC” and introduced a new Copilot key on Windows keyboards, expectations are high for what Microsoft will deliver next.
The upcoming AI event is also anticipated to reveal new Surface laptops equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processors. These laptops are designed to run Windows on Arm and compete with Apple's M3-powered MacBook Air. Additionally, new features for Windows are expected to include an AI Explorer app. This app will resemble the old Windows 10 Timeline feature, enabling users to resume tasks across different devices and enhancing the concept of a “copilot for every person.”
Microsoft's recent tests in the preview builds included an animated Copilot taskbar icon to indicate when the AI assistant could offer assistance. Users could hover over the icon to see options such as generating a summary of text. Another feature allowed Copilot to be moved from the sidebar into a standard application window, which users could resize and reposition. This feature began rolling out to the Canary channel in March.
In addition to these innovations, new builds released to both the Dev and Beta channels have included fixes for Copilot unexpectedly auto-launching after a restart. A new shortcut has also been added to the right-click menu in File Explorer, allowing users to duplicate tabs. Importantly for those monitoring their system's performance, Microsoft has updated Task Manager to reflect memory speed in DDR-ready MT/s units instead of the older MHz.
As Microsoft continues to refine its AI offerings, the upcoming AI event will likely provide critical insights into Windows's future capabilities and integration with advanced AI technologies.
