Windows 11 Update Adds Bing AI Features
More updates for Windows 11 include a screen recorder capability with Snipping and tabs creation in Notepad.
Microsoft’s push into artificial intelligence will include an update to its Windows 11 operating system that adds an AI-powered version of its Bing search engine to the taskbar and AI-powered recommended content in the start menu for certain users, among other new capabilities.
The Redmond, Wash.-based vendor announced the start of some of the new features on Tuesday with full availability expected in the March 2023 monthly security update release, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft launched Windows 11 in October 2021. Windows 11 users are “more engaged” than Windows 10 users and the new OS has customer satisfaction “higher than any version of Windows ever, Panos Panay, Microsoft executive vice president and chief product officer, said in the online post announcing the updates.
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Microsoft Windows 11 Bing AI Updates
CRN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
More updates for Windows 11 include:
*A preview of Phone Link for iOS
*Improved touch experiences
*Updated widgets
*A screen recorder capability with Snipping
*Tabs creation in Notepad
Microsoft launched AI-powered Bing earlier this year and has seen more than a million users across 169 countries. Users have been impressed, amused and even concerned by the AI, which follows a wave of AI hype generated by Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s content-generating applications ChatGPT and Dall-E.
The new Bing search engine taskbar in Windows 11 will allow users to search, chat, answer questions and generate content.
“With the new Bing in the Windows taskbar, you will be more empowered to harness the world’s information,” Panay said.
Along with the Bing addition, the taskbar gains a typable Windows search box, according to Microsoft. Search box has more than 500 million users a month, “one of the most widely used features on Windows,” according to Microsoft. Users of the AI Bing previews can access the new search box with the new Windows 11 update.
The taskbar also gained new abilities for finding and adjusting Windows Studio Effects settings to adjust background blur, eye contact and automatic framing for communications applications including Microsoft Teams, according to Microsoft.
And a Microsoft Teams integration with the taskbar’s chat feature gains the ability to better preview videos.
The Other Windows 11 Updates
Phone Link for iOS allows iPhone users to see on their Windows 11 PCs when a text or call comes in. “Windows insiders” will get access to the preview first, according to Microsoft.
Samsung phone owners also gain an easier way to activate personal hotspots with a single click from Windows PCs’ Wi-Fi network lists. Samsung owners can also transfer browser sessions from phone to PC.
The Windows OS has gained touch controls for snapping windows into place and gestures for opening and closing items.
The start menu’s “quick assist” option gained new capabilities for switching between screen sharing and full control duering technical assistance sessions. Microsoft also added a laser pointer feature for highlighting items on screen.
Microsoft has expanded Widgets to include Phone Link, Xbox Game Pass, Spotify and other applications for quick viewing by users.
Windows Narrator has added more support for braille displays and voice access functionality is now out of preview.
And system settings will have new environment-minded toggles and recommendations, such as adjusting screen brightness and settings for sleep mode, according to Microsoft.