Microsoft has released one of the biggest updates to Windows 11, version 22H2, which includes access to its AI-powered digital assistant Copilot and a number of new AI-powered upgrades to classic apps like Paint, Screenshot Tool and Photos.
The company announced the update, along with upgrades to Bing, Edge and Microsoft 365, as well as two new Surface laptops, last week at its annual event focused on the Surface lineup.
Copilot offers the same experience as Bing Chat, appearing in the taskbar or with the Win+C keyboard shortcut and allowing users to control settings, launch applications or ask questions. Copilot is also integrated with Microsoft 365, Bing and Edge.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, explained how a user can create, for example, a PowerPoint presentation using conversations they have already had in Teams, messages in Outlook, their saved files, etc.
He added: “The context and intelligence of the web, your work data and what you are currently doing on your device are presented in a single, unified experience that is centered around you and based on your preferences and permissions.” »
The more context and memory Copilot has, the greater its execution capabilities, the company explained.
Copilot may be slightly more successful than its late predecessor Cortana because it is based on the same technologies as Bing Chat, but the risk of incorrect answers still exists.
With the new update, Microsoft is also integrating AI into several Windows 11 apps.
Paint, for example, has background removal and layers, as well as a preview from Cocreator, which brings generative AI to the app. With the screenshot tool, users can now extract specific textual content from an image to paste into another application, or easily protect their sensitive information through text redaction and much more. Photos, Notepad and Clipchamp also receive new upgrades with the help of AI.
Other features of the Windows 11 update include:
- The new Outlook for Windows (which replaces the Mail and Calendar apps) connects various email accounts, including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and more, into a single app.
- New home page, address bar, and search box for File Explorer, making it easier for users to access relevant content, stay up to date on file activity, and more.
- New voice-accessible copywriting experiences and new natural voices in Narrator to improve accessibility
- Windows Backup to support transferring files, apps and settings from one PC to a new Windows 11 PC.
- Windows 365 Switch and Windows 365 Boot will be generally available and will make it easier for a user to access their Windows Cloud PC.
Bing and Edge
AI upgrades for Bing and Edge are also rolling out soon, including more personalized responses based on a user’s chat history (the setting can be disabled), online shopping support from Copilot in Microsoft Shopping, and OpenAI DALL-E integration with Bing Image Creator.
Additionally, Microsoft is adding Content Credentials, which uses cryptographic methods to add an invisible digital watermark to all AI-generated images in Bing, including the time and date the image was originally created.
Bing Chat Enterprise, which launched two months ago, is now available in the Microsoft Edge mobile app, the company announced. Additionally, Microsoft provides support for multimodal visual search and Image Creator for Bing Chat Enterprise.
Microsoft 365
Microsoft announced that Microsoft 365 Copilot, originally introduced in March, will be generally available to enterprise customers starting November 1st.
It also introduced Microsoft 365 Chat, which works like another assistant, searching emails, meetings, chats, documents and more, as well as the web to perform complex tasks such as writing documents, booking travel and checking emails. emails to do.
Copilot in Outlook, Word, Excel, Loop, OneNote and OneDrive also benefits from new functions that offer users more options.
Additionally, Microsoft announced Designer, a new Microsoft 365 consumer app that allows users to create visuals, social media posts, invitations, and more. Most of its functions are supported by the AI image generator DALL-E.
Designer will be integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot for consumers, starting with Word.
The original article is available on IT World Canada, a sister publication of Direction IT.
Adaptation and French translation by Renaud Larue-Langlois.