Microsoft expands Copilot across Windows 11 and Edge with new tools

Microsoft this week rolled out a broad Fall update to its Copilot artificial intelligence across Windows 11, Edge and Copilot mobile apps, introducing new automation, collaboration and personalization features and expanding integrations with cloud services and Microsoft Office applications. The changes, which Microsoft began making available this week with some features entering its Windows Insider beta program, aim to deepen Copilot’s presence on PCs and in users’ workflows while raising new questions about privacy and performance for some users.

The update brings a text chat interface to Copilot Vision on Windows 11, which until now accepted only voice commands, and adds simple voice controls to the standard Copilot so users can start interactions by saying Hey Copilot and end them by saying Goodbye. Microsoft will add a taskbar button to make one-click access easier and is surfacing Copilot more prominently in Edge, where a new Copilot Mode can see open tabs, summarize content and perform actions such as booking travel or filling forms with user permission.

A headline feature is an expanded Copilot Actions agent that can now work with files on a user’s device and connect to...