Microsoft begins testing AI search on Windows

Microsoft is testing AI-powered Windows search in the up-to-date build of the Windows 11 Insider Developer Channel. Announced in October, the feature uses semantic indexing to allow users to search for local files using a more casual language. As with other Microsoft AI features, you need a Copilot Plus computer to employ them.

This feature applies whether you employ the search boxes in Settings, File Explorer, or the taskbar. You don’t need to be connected to the Internet to operate, thanks to the NPU chips in Copilot Plus computers. For now, AI searches are narrow to Windows settings and image and text files in formats including JPEG, PNG, PDF, TXT and XLS.

Microsoft says the search only works for files in the locations you select for indexing. Users can customize these locations using the options found in Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Search or enable the “Enhanced” option to index their entire computer. The company adds that this feature will eventually expand to include cloud-based data such as that stored in OneDrive.

The AI-powered Windows Search “will be gradually rolled out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-based Copilot+ computers,” Microsoft writes, with support for Intel or AMD Copilot Plus computers later. This feature will work on computers set to Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

In addition to the up-to-date search, the build also includes AI writing tools provided by Click to Do, a feature that lets you choose from context-sensitive menus of options when you hold down the Windows key and left-click on the screen. Now when you click on a block of text and select Rewrite, there will be an “Improve” option that can improve grammar.