"Hey Copilot" – Windows 11 Gets Local AI Agents
Not just via the browser anymore, AI agents will soon be working under Windows for actions with local files as well. Even on command.
"Search my emails and give me specific contextual information" – that's what Microsoft is promising here.
(Image: Microsoft, Screenshot: heise medien)
In a recent blog post, Microsoft's Marketing Chief Yusuf Mehdi announced that in the future, "every Windows 11 PC will become an AI PC." While this will continue to run fastest with a "Copilot+" PC, neural processing units are no longer strictly necessary. The core of this new strategy remains Copilot, with which users are expected to interact more frequently via voice input in the future. The new features will soon be available for participants in the Windows Insider Program in "Copilot Labs." They will all need to be activated via opt-in and can also be deactivated afterwardss.
This also applies to listening via "Copilot Voice." If this function is activated, the PC waits for "Hey Copilot" and then accepts commands. These, as well as prompt inputs via keyboard, are to be understood by Windows 11 in natural language. A microphone icon indicates when the PC is listening, and listening can be ended with the voice command "Goodbye" or a click.
That Windows listens and understands is one of the three pillars on which Mehdi presents the new strategy. The other two stipulate that Copilot should have access to everything the user sees – reminiscent of Microsoft Recall – and that Windows can act for the user.
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Copilot Actions for Cloud and Local Files
The latter is one of the biggest planned innovations: instead of just controlling the browser, as has been possible with Copilot PCs since May 2025 for search queries, for example, the AI will also be able to work with local files. These "Copilot Actions" can involve searching, summarizing, or sorting files, Mehdi writes. Copilot can then also transfer content to other applications; for example, Microsoft shows in a video how to check photos for correct alignment and email these images to a person. All of this is triggered by a few short prompts.
For this, you can also link non-Microsoft services with Copilot. Google Drive and Gmail are explicitly mentioned. You can allow Copilot access to their content and also to sending files through these services. Microsoft wants to place all of this under the user's full control, who can also revoke the links. Especially with the integration of multiple services and applications, Copilot Actions are expected to make mistakes at first, Microsoft explicitly states. Therefore, it is so important to test these functions in practice, the company believes.
(nie)
