Microsoft unveiled a “new generation of Windows experiences” earlier this month. The tech giant announced new features for Copilot+ PCs, the Photos app, Paint, Snipping Tool, and Windows 11.
Only a couple of weeks after being announced, several of the features are already in testing among Windows Insiders. Select users in the Dev Channel and Beta Channel can now try AI actions in File Explorer and several other features.
The latest Dev Channel update, which brings systems to Build 26200.5603, also has a new visual experience for widgets. The improvements should make it easier to organize and personalize the widgets panel.
Those in the Beta Channel can test the same features by upgrading to Build 26120.4151.
The features are rolling out gradually, even among Insiders. If you want to enable AI actions in File Explorer manually, I explain how to do so below.
Here are the change logs for the latest Insider builds, as outlined by Microsoft.
Windows 11 Build 26200.5603 & Build 26120.4151: New features
Introducing AI actions in File Explorer
With AI actions in File Explorer, you can interact more deeply with your files by right-clicking to quickly take actions like editing images or summarizing documents. Like with Click to Do, AI actions in File Explorer allow you to stay in your flow while leveraging the power of AI to take advantage of editing tools in apps or Copilot functionality without having to open your file. AI actions in File Explorer are easily accessible – to try out AI actions in File Explorer, just right-click on a file and you will see a new AI actions entry on the content menu that allows you to choose from available options for your file.
Today, you can try one of four image actions for seamless editing or web searches with images:
- Bing Visual Search: Allows you to search the web using an image instead of text. Find similar images and products, get details about sites using the image, and identify landmarks, plants, and famous faces. From searching what you see on your screen, to shopping your preferred style, getting help with that homework problem, or translating text, getting answers is more intuitive than ever.
- Blur Background: Opens the Photos app which automatically finds the background in the photo, and with a single click, instantly highlights your subject and blurs out the background. You can also customize the effect by adjusting the Blur Intensity or use the Brush Tool to modify the areas being blurred.
- Erase Objects: With Photos by selecting or highlighting an unwanted element in your photo and Generative Erase makes it disappear. It allows you to fix and remove distractions from your photos.
- Remove Background: With Paint allows you to alter any image automatically in just one click leaving a smooth cutout of the subject. Background removal can detect the subject from the entire canvas or using the selection tool.
These four image actions currently support these file types: .jpg, .jpeg, and .png.
Over the course of the coming weeks, we will begin to roll out new AI actions for Microsoft 365 files:
- Summarize: With Copilot you can generate summaries of various document types stored on OneDrive and SharePoint without the need to open them individually. Find the information you need quickly! Supported file types: .docx, .doc, .pptx, .ppt, .xlsx, .xls, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .loop.
- Create an FAQ: Copilot can help you turn your OneDrive files into a neatly formatted, AI-generated Q&A list. Whether you’re building internal knowledge bases, prepping for meetings, or crafting quick-start guides, “Create an FAQ” distills complex information into clear, shareable FAQs in seconds. Supported file types: xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt, .rtf, .aspx, .htm, and .html.
To see AI actions for Microsoft 365 files, you must be:
- For Summarize, you need to be Microsoft 365 subscriber with a Copilot subscription (Microsoft account and Microsoft Entra ID supported).
- For Create an FAQ, you need to be a commercial Microsoft 365 subscriber with a Copilot subscription (Microsoft Entra ID supported). Consumer support with a Microsoft account is coming later.
- Enrolled in the Microsoft 365 Insider Program. Your PC will need to be part of the Beta Channel update channel. Use these instructions to get setup today: Become a Microsoft 365 Insider on Windows.
Let us know what you think of these new AI actions in File Explorer!
Introducing Advanced Settings
Advanced settings are now available via Settings > System > Advanced with some new features. The Advanced page is a redesign of the For Developers page, intending to make its settings easier to find for a broader audience. With the redesign of this page, we’ve added additional settings: Enable long paths, Virtual workspaces, and File Explorer + version control.
Enable long paths allows you to remove MAX_PATH limitations from common Win32 file and directory functions. Virtual workspaces allow you to enable/disable virtual environments such as Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and more. File Explorer + version control provides the ability to display Git information directly inside File Explorer. Simply select your repository folder and File Explorer will display information such as your branch, diff count, last commit message, and more.
Windows Advanced settings is here! We restructured the For Developers page and added new features such as File Explorer with version control 🚀Easily view your Git information directly in columns within File Explorer! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QukvK76Bw1May 19, 2025
Windows 11 Build 26200.5603 & Build 26120.4151: Changes and Improvements
Taskbar & System Tray
- In addition to the new grouping of the Accessibility flyout in quick settings, we are adding text descriptions for the assistive technologies like Narrator, Voice access, etc. for easy identification and learning by the users.
Search on the Taskbar
We are beginning to roll out some improvements for the Windows search box on your taskbar:
- When showing search results, we will provide a notice that your search results may be incomplete if Windows is still indexing your PC with a link to check your indexing status. You can dismiss this notice.
- We are also providing a status for files and folders on your PC so you can easily see if a file or folder is available when online (cloud) or available on your device.
Voice access
- We have temporarily disabled Chinese support in voice access to address some issues. We plan to begin rolling this change out again in a future flight soon.
We’re trying out a new visual experience for the widgets board, with a more organized, personalized, and engaging feed. In addition, we are introducing Copilot-curated stories into the feed. These make it easy to get a multifaceted view on a single topic, connecting summaries, videos, and images from trusted MSN premium publishers. Some features, such as pinning and hiding, are still under development. Explore this experience and please share your feedback as we’ll continue to evolve the experience.
You can choose to return to the previous widgets board experience, by changing the ‘Copilot Discover (Preview)’ toggle in the Personalize MSN settings dialog (shown below).
Power & Battery
- We’re introducing User Interaction-Aware CPU Power Management, an OS-level enhancement that helps reduce power consumption and extend your battery life. After a period of inactivity on your PC, Windows now conserve power by automatically applying efficient power management policies. This happens seamlessly to save energy while you’re inactive, with full performance instantly restored the moment you get back to it. It’s another way we’re working to make your Windows experience both responsive and energy-efficient!
- Please note: Actual savings depend on device segment, power mode and whether you’re plugged in or running on battery, according to manufacturer-defined Processor Power Management (PPM) settings.
Windows Share
- In the Windows share window, as part of the ability to quickly edit and enhance images while sharing, we have adjusted the UI so that now you can now select their compression scale from High, Medium, or Low Quality, instead of choosing from an entire scale ranging from 0-100.
Windows Backup
- We’re trying out different variations of the landing page when you launch the Windows Backup app.
- [ADDED] Last month, we announced Snipping Tool’s new text extractor feature — designed to minimize the number of steps it takes to copy text to your clipboard without having to take a screenshot of your screen. With this Windows update, we’re making it easier to jump directly into text extractor via Win + Shift + T. You can learn more about using text extractor here. You should be on Snipping Tool version 11.2503.29.0 or higher as well.
Settings
We are rolling out some small changes for your setting your browser defaults in Windows 11 via Settings > Apps > Default apps:
- For Add new link/file types of ‘Set Default’ button, we have added additional types for the “Set Default” button. You can now set more types.
- For one-click button of PDF for browser sets, we have added a new button for making your default browser also the default app for PDF files.
How to enable Windows 11 features
Microsoft often rolls out new features gradually. You can, however, enable many features by force.
To try AI Actions in File Explorer, you need to join the Windows Insider Program. Then, enroll your PC in the Dev or Beta Channel.
You then need to download ViVeTool and use the id “54792954,55345819” to enable the feature. X user phantomofearth highlighted the ID needed to enable the feature. They also shared a screenshot of AI Actions in File Explorer.
You need to be on the latest Dev or Beta build of Windows 11 to enable AI Actions in File Explorer.
Generally speaking, I recommend waiting until a feature rolls out to your system, especially if it’s a minor addition. But if you’re eager to test the latest features in Windows 11, there’s a way to do so.
