Microsoft is rolling out a major update to Windows 11 today that adds the company’s new AI-powered Bing search to the operating system. The new Windows 11 update will provide access to the new Bing chat feature along with a bunch of new features. Windows 11 also gets improvements to widgets, a better touch experience, a screen recording feature, tabs in Notepad, and more.
The new Bing integration is a surprise that Microsoft is not testing it with Windows Insiders. A new Bing icon will appear in the search box in the taskbar, with Microsoft showing a new chat response experience in the search engine. While there won’t be live chat answers in the browser window, Windows 11 users can quickly start a Bing chat in Edge from here – providing a preview of Bing.
“We’re reimagining what I think of as an AI-powered Windows for the future,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of marketing, in an interview. The Verge. “This is an important feature, today more than half a billion people use the search box regularly.”
More than a million people are now testing the new Bing preview in 169 countries, and Windows CEO Panos Panay said in a blog post that “soon hundreds of millions of Windows 11 users will be able to the opportunity to use this amazing new technology to search, chat, answer. questions and create content right on their Windows desktop.” This shows that Microsoft is planning to expand the new Bing preview significantly.
The expansion of Bing chat to the Windows 11 taskbar comes a week after Microsoft rolled out the same feature to Bing on mobile and in Skype chat. Microsoft is also ready to show ChatGPT-like AI in Office applications soon.
This big new Windows 11 update isn’t just about Bing, though. Microsoft is also releasing a preview of its Web Link app for iOS, meaning iPhone users can connect their devices to Windows. This will include being able to send and receive messages (yes, even iMessage), calls, and notifications. You can read more about Microsoft’s new Phone Connection for iOS here.
Microsoft is also expanding its widgets system in Windows 11 to include third-party options from Meta and Spotify. Even the touch experience in Windows 11 gets a boost today thanks to the new and improved tablet functionality. If you have a device like the Surface Pro, then disconnecting the keyboard will now collapse the taskbar to make it smaller, with a simpler taskbar designed for touch.
Windows 11 is finally getting an official screen recording tool. While Xbox Game Pass allows for apps to be recorded, the Snipping Tool now includes screen recording to allow full screen capture or cropping for applications.
Elsewhere, Microsoft is improving the built-in Teams experience to allow people to easily view their videos and quickly access conversations. The Quick Assist app in Windows 11 has also been redesigned to make it easier to help friends and family you may need technical assistance with.
If you are a fan of Notepad, then you will surely be happy to hear that tab support is a part of this Windows 11 update. Microsoft also included new Braille display support and rolled out its voice-enabled features from the preview, along with new devices to improve energy efficiency for laptops.
These new Windows 11 features are all available today by checking for new updates from Windows Update. Microsoft says these will begin rolling out in March 2023 monthly security updates on March 14.
#Microsoft #brought #AIpowered #Bing #Windows #taskbar