- Windows 11 is getting more Copilot functionality
- An ‘Ask Copilot’ option is arriving for the right-click menu on the desktop
- Copilot is also being deployed in the Microsoft Store to provide buying advice (in testing)
If you’re expecting to see more AI in Windows 11, well, you’d be bang on the money there, as it seems Copilot is creeping into another couple of places in Microsoft’s desktop OS.
Neowin noticed that the latest version of the Copilot app (1.25044.93.0) has planted a new choice to invoke Copilot when working with certain files on your Windows 11 desktop.
So, if you right-click on a compatible file, it’ll offer an ‘Ask Copilot’ option in the context menu (which contains common actions you might like to pursue with any given file).
If you select that Copilot choice, it’ll fire up the app for the AI assistant with relevant options available (for example, if it’s a document, you’ll get the ability to summarize it there and then).
You may have seen that Microsoft recently revealed it’s set to introduce AI actions to File Explorer (the app which displays the contents of the folders on your PC). So, this move appears to be happening now.
Elsewhere, Microsoft is also planning to bring Copilot into the Microsoft Store to advise those browsing through its various wares.
The move – which is still in testing, according to Windows Latest – consists of adding a Copilot button to product pages in the store.
Clicking on that button pops up a small dialog box allowing you to ‘Ask Copilot about this product’ with suggested questions you might want to use, and a ‘compare’ button that allows you to see how the app (or game) stacks up to a rival piece of software.
However, the catch is that this integration in the Microsoft Store is hardly seamless, as all the store does is just throw your query to the Copilot app.
Analysis: Clever or clutter?
With the latter change, the idea is to help spur sales in the Microsoft Store with Copilot, although the integration being so basic isn’t going to help there.
It doesn’t feel very advanced to ask for a comparison of two apps, and to then be simply presented with a query of the differences between them in the Copilot app. Yes, it’s still a convenience, but it feels clunkier than the way it works now – but perhaps Microsoft is thinking of improving it down the line. Remember, this is still in testing for now.
Furthermore, not that many folks ever tread the virtual aisles of the Microsoft Store anyway, and the bigger move here is the wider deployment of Copilot as a right-click, context-sensitive option in Windows 11.
With that concept – which wasn’t unexpected, given Microsoft previously announced that this is the course it’s taking – the problem is it’s going to be a love or hate thing.
Those people who use Copilot will appreciate the convenience of added ways in which to easily access the AI direct from files on the desktop. However, those who don’t care about Copilot aren’t going to want an extra line of space taken up in their right-click menu, and will just regard this as additional clutter.
That said, those haters have choices. Neowin points out that you can perform a Registry edit to remove this new functionality from the right-click menu, but I really wouldn’t recommend that. Not unless you’re tech-savvy, and you want to keep the Copilot app, but not this extra option. (And even then, I should warn that messing with the Registry could cause trouble with your system if not immediately, then potentially down the line).
Rather, if you’re getting fed up with the various tendrils of Copilot extending too far into the interface of Windows 11, just uninstall the Copilot app completely. That’ll remove the AI from your context-sensitive menus (and taskbar, and everywhere else). Just find the app in the Start menu, right click it and choose the uninstall option to banish Copilot. Of course, you won’t be able to use the app at all then, so that’s not a good road to travel for those who might want to occasionally fire up the AI.
Not everything is bad about AI in Windows 11 by any means, and I should note that there’s a smart ability inbound, namely additional powers to be able to find and change settings in the OS (something that was promised from the outset by Microsoft, but never delivered until now). I say delivered now, but this hasn’t gone into testing just yet, and it’s only for Copilot+ PCs sadly (as is the case for another really useful AI-related tweak, better Windows search).
So, that’s another rather unfortunate theme for some folks, as well as AI spreading across more of Windows 11 – all of the best functionality is reserved for Copilot+ PCs. This is because some features require the NPU they have on-board for processing AI workloads on the actual device, rather than via the cloud.