What you need to know
- Microsoft has taken the wraps off a new wave of AI features designed exclusively for Copilot+ PCs with Windows 11.
- The new features include Windows’ own “Circle To Search” tool, image upscaling in Photos, and generative capabilities in Paint.
- Microsoft is also bringing AI to Windows Search, which will let users search for files and images just by describing them.
It’s been less than six months since Copilot+ PCs first hit the market, and Microsoft is already gearing up to ship a new wave of AI features designed exclusively for these NPU-equipped devices. Unveiled today, Windows 11 is getting four powerful new AI features that will only run on Copilot+ PCs, and here’s a rundown of all the new features:
- Click To Do: An AI overlay that can analyze what’s currently on screen and offer contextual actions based on what’s selected
- AI in Windows Search: Microsoft is adding descriptive language to search on Windows 11 in the File Explorer, Settings, and universal Windows Search pane.
- Super Resolution in Photos: You will soon be able to upscale images using AI in the Photos app, powered by the on-device NPU.
- Generative Fill/Erase in Paint: Adding or removing objects from images using AI in Paint is coming to Windows 11.
Click To Do is a new AI overlay that’s available at any time by hold down the Windows key and clicking with your mouse. An overlay will then appear and offer contextual actions based on what’s currently on-screen. Similar to “Circle To Search” on Android, when this AI overlay is active you can click on any object or text on screen and use AI to conduct a visual search, summarize content, rewrite messages, and complete common actions with the click of a button.
This is actually more powerful than Circle To Search on Android, because it extends beyond just searching the web. For example, Click To Do can recognize if you’ve selected an image, and offer contextual actions such as blurring the background or removing objects within that image directly within the overlay’s context menu. This is a true example of AI being used for productivity purposes.
In addition to Click To Do, Microsoft has also announced that it’s bringing AI to Windows Search in an effort to help fix Windows’ not-so-great search capabilities. On Copilot+ PCs, search on Windows will soon be descriptive, meaning you can just describe the document or image you’re looking for and have Windows find it. No longer do you need to remember specific titles for files on your computer.
This is launching first in the File Explorer, where document and images searches are most common, but Microsoft promises it will roll out to the main Windows Search pane and Windows Settings in the coming months too. This is a huge new AI feature that, if done correctly, might fix Windows 11’s poor searching system that struggles to find what you’re looking for.
Microsoft is also bringing more generative capabilities to Paint and Photos in the form of super resolution and generative fill and erase functions. Photos is getting super resolution, which enables the ability to upscale images using the NPU on Copilot+ PCs directly within the Photos app. Microsoft says Photos will be able to upscale images up to 8x, and will complete the upscale in a matter of seconds.
In Paint, you’ll be able to fill or erase parts of an image using generative AI. The app now has an adjustable brush which gives more precision over particular areas you want to edit with AI, whether that be to remove objects or add objects using descriptive language. This is very similar to Magic Eraser on Android, now built directly into the Windows Paint app and runs locally.
Microsoft says Copilot+ PCs will gain access to these new features over the holiday period. The company has also announced a brand-new Copilot that’s launching today with new capabilities and experiences, designed to be more human and intuitive.
