Microsoft: Restart of Recall AI functions – later in the EU

After the first quick-fire version of Microsoft's artificial intelligence function “Recall” had to be stopped shortly after launch, Microsoft has now made improvements and is making a new attempt. The April update preview for Windows 11 24H2 brings Recall back to Copilot+ computers as part of the gradual roll-out. However, interested parties in the EU are still waiting in the wings.

Late on Friday afternoon, Microsoft released the update preview for Windows 11 24H2, after the preview for older Windows versions including Windows 10 had already been available shortly before. The reason for this could be that the update for the latest Windows 11 version is significantly more extensive. It also includes the AI assistant Recall, which regularly takes snapshots of the screen on Copilot+ PCs and can then search through them using AI.

Recall: using local artificial intelligence

In a blog post, Microsoft praises the new functions available on Copilot+ machines at – and also mentions some limitations. Recall is intended to be a memory aid and help you pick up where you left off. “Whether it's a project from last week or one of the countless browser tabs that were open while shopping online, picking up again often means relying on vague memories while searching through folders, web pages or endless emails,” Microsoft explains the problem to be solved with Recall.

Recall analyzes screenshots and makes the information searchable so that Excel tables with matching terms appear for search terms, as Microsoft shows in an example. The “improved Windows search” can search using descriptions in images, documents, and settings. “Click to Do” makes context-sensitive AI functions available with a click of the mouse while holding down the “Windows” key on the keyboard, such as summarizing or rewriting texts or copying texts and images that are visible on the screen – is currently still limited to Snapdragon X PCs, however.

Recall is optional in the new version; interested parties must activate it themselves. Settings for content filtering and individual adjustments to the content to be saved are intended to help take privacy requirements into account. The implementation is intended to address security concerns with login via Windows Hello, encryption of stored data and isolation in Recall. Data remains local and is not sent to the cloud or shared with Microsoft or third parties, the manufacturer assures.

Customers from larger organizations that have an E3 license can manage the function centrally. According to further explanations in a blog post on policies for Recall, “Click-to-Do” and “Improved Windows Search,” Microsoft explains that the feature currently called “Recall (Preview)” is off by default, while the other two features will be enabled by default with the next annual Windows feature update. The “AllowRecallEnablement” policy also installs Recall in these environments and enables users to activate it. The “AllowTemporaryEnterpriseFeatureControl” policy activates the “Click to Do” and “Improved Windows Search” functions.

Copilot+ PCs are no longer limited to Snapdragon processors; Microsoft now also includes computers with AMD and Intel processors with NPUs –. However, these must achieve at least 40 TOPS; small NPUs such as those from AMD's Ryzen 7840 or 8840 with 10 or 16 TOPS respectively are not sufficient for this. In the footnotes, Microsoft points out that the “Copilot+ PC experience may vary by device and market”. The functions may require further updates, which will be distributed in the course of 2025. Recall and Click-to-Do will come to the EU “later in 2025”, although “times will vary”.

(dmk)