Microsoft Enhances Windows Search with AI for Copilot+ PCs

Microsoft introduces an AI upgrade to Windows Search, simplifying the process of finding photos, documents, and settings on Copilot+ PCs, initially available only on devices with Snapdragon processors.

Microsoft just dropped a game-changer for Windows Search in their latest Windows Insider blog post, and guess what? AI’s at the heart of it. Now, finding your photos, docs, and even those pesky settings is about to get a whole lot easier. But here’s the catch—it’s only for the lucky folks with Copilot+ PCs rocking Snapdragon processors. Don’t worry, AMD and Intel users, your turn’s coming soon.

This update packs all the goodies from build 26100.3613, but it’s playing hard to get with some top-tier Copilot+ PCs because, well, they’re not Snapdragon. The rollout’s taking its sweet time, introducing some fancy semantic and lexical indexing magic. Translation? You can kiss goodbye to remembering exact file names when hunting down that one photo or document.

Thanks to the marriage of Windows Search and NPUs that can push out 40 TOPS, Copilot+ PCs are turning into search ninjas. Microsoft’s example says it all: just type something like ‘summer picnics’ into the File Explorer search box, and voilà. No need for tech-speak here.

And it’s not just about the stuff on your hard drive. Cloud-stored photos? They’re in on the action too, showing up alongside local files in your search results. Documents in the cloud with exact keyword matches? They’ll pop up too. Right now, you can play around with this on your personal OneDrive—consider it a sneak peek.

But wait, there’s more. Microsoft’s also tinkering with a new Settings feature in a Windows 11 preview build that lets you beef up app functionalities straight from the Settings menu. As for when AMD and Intel PCs will join the party, Microsoft’s keeping us in suspense. But hey, good things come to those who wait, right?