Windows 11 is receiving major Copilot and agentic updates that transform it into a voice-activated and context-aware “AI PC”. The core of these updates involves expanding Copilot beyond a simple chat window to act as an agent that can see, hear, and perform multi-step tasks across apps and files on your PC.
Key Copilot updates
- “Hey Copilot” voice activation: You can now summon Copilot using the voice wake word “Hey Copilot” for hands-free, conversational interaction.
- Copilot Vision (generally available): This feature lets Copilot see and analyze what is on your screen, enabling it to provide guided support and visual instructions in real-time.
- “Highlights” feature: Ask Copilot “show me how,” and it will walk you through a specific task visually within an app, such as editing a photo or finding a setting.
- In-app context: In apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Vision can analyze entire documents, presentations, or spreadsheets, not just what’s visible on the screen.
- Text interaction for Vision: A text-based mode for Copilot Vision is coming to Windows Insiders, allowing interaction via chat prompts instead of only voice.
- Integrated taskbar experience: A new “Ask Copilot” button on the taskbar offers a streamlined search experience for apps, files, and settings, along with one-click access to Copilot Voice and Vision.
- Copilot Connectors: Now available for Windows Insiders, this feature links Copilot to your personal data in services like Outlook, OneDrive, Gmail, and Google Drive, allowing you to ask natural language questions to find information.
- Microsoft 365 export: You can now ask Copilot to export text directly into a formatted Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation.
- Settings integration: Copilot can help you change system settings by providing a direct link to the relevant page based on a natural language request, like “make my screen easier to read”.
- Gaming Copilot (beta): A personal gaming assistant is available on the ROG Xbox Ally devices, offering in-game help and recommendations.
New agentic experiences
Microsoft is expanding Copilot from a passive assistant into an active agent that can perform multi-step tasks on your behalf.
- Copilot Actions for local files (Preview): Available in Copilot Labs for Windows Insiders, this enables Copilot to take real actions on local files on your PC, including:
- Sorting photos
- Extracting information from PDFs
- Automating bulk tasks across desktop and web applications
- Agent Workspace for security: To address security concerns, agents operate in an isolated “Agent Workspace” with limited initial permissions. Users must grant explicit consent for actions, and they have full visibility and control to pause or stop tasks at any time.
- Dedicated AI agents:
- Manus AI agent: This new agent can automatically generate a website from local image files or documents with a right-click in File Explorer or a chat prompt.
- Video editing with Filmora: A new AI action in File Explorer lets you seamlessly edit videos using Filmora.
- Third-party integrations:
- Zoom “Click to Do”: For Windows Insiders with Copilot+ PCs, this integration allows you to instantly schedule a Zoom meeting by hovering over an email address on your screen.
Important context for all Windows 11 PCs
The rollout of these advanced AI features is happening for all Windows 11 devices, not just Copilot+ PCs with specialized AI hardware. However, some advanced on-device processing features, like “Click to Do,” will remain exclusive to Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft is pushing these updates following the end of support for Windows 10, encouraging users to upgrade and adopt the new AI-centric experiences.
For more info, click on the link below.
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/10/16/making-every-windows-11-pc-an-ai-pc