Microsoft wants AI to make file searching a more casual experience
- Microsoft is testing AI-powered search for Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs.
- The new feature allows users to find local files in informal language.
- Microsoft is also testing AI-powered ‘Click to Do’ rewriting tools.
Microsoft is testing an AI-powered search feature for Windows 11 that promises to put an end to the days of properly organizing and naming your files just to find them later. Currently only available to testers with Copilot+ PCs, this new search tool uses semantic indexing to locate files with a conversational twist.
So instead of worrying about precise file names, you can now type common questions like, “Where’s that presentation I made last week?” With any luck the AI will find it.
The feature works in Settings, File Explorer and the taskbar and includes standard file formats for images, documents and spreadsheets. Since it relies on built-in AI models, it doesn’t require an internet connection. That said, the search only works on locations you’ve selected to index. You can index everything by switching to the new “enhanced” mode, but that may require more trust in Microsoft than is comfortable.
But for those who feel like their digital lives are spread across desktops, downloads and who knows where, the feature will certainly be useful, even if it’s limited to the computer for now. That means you can’t search your cloud-stored OneDrive files yet, although Microsoft says that capability is on the way. But if you’re not using a Copilot Plus machine, you’re out of luck for now.
Copilot+
The feature is a logical extension of Microsoft’s AI agenda, which aims to weave AI tools into the company’s products. On Copilot+ PCs, these tools include other features currently in testing, such as Click to Do, which lets users perform AI-powered tasks with a simple keyboard-and-mouse shortcut. All you have to do is highlight a section of text, hold the Windows key and click to access a menu of options, including ‘Rewrite’ and the grammar-correcting ‘Refine’.
Microsoft’s AI ambitions are clearly aimed at making people’s lives easier, provided you’ve invested in the right hardware. The shift from rigid commands to a more human approach has obvious appeal. The days of typing exact filenames or endless keywords may be numbered. And it’s a relatively small step from helping you find your PowerPoint presentation to helping you write it.
Whether this is the killer app that will drive people to buy a Copilot+ PC, as Microsoft wants, is still open to question. But if it can save you from having to rename files with “final_final_v2” for the millionth time, it might be worth it.