Microsoft reveals Windows 11's AI roadmap: smart search, upscaling, and more

Super Resolution in Photos and Paint's Generative Fill look like early wins for Windows. Click to Do? Bah, humbug.

- MARK HACHMAN

What’s next for Windows? Microsoft may have just shipped the Windows 11 2024 Update (24H2), but the company is already disclosing its plans for next-gen Windows apps—and there are some very interesting AI-powered features due by the holidays.

Microsoft disclosed that it is working on several AI additions to Windows and Windows apps: improved Windows search using natural descriptive language, Super Resolution in Photos, Generative Fill and Erase in Paint, as well as the debut of Recall. All (save Recall) are appearing in October as part of the Windows Insider program, with an expected launch in November.

All of these features will depend on the NPU inside Copilot+ PCs, which will now include PCs that feature Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors as well as AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 and Intel’s Lunar Lake. Microsoft also plans several more Copilot features that will run in the cloud, which will include Copilot Voice and Copilot Vision, similar to the innovations used in competing AI services. The timing of these new features will vary by platform, however, as Snapdragon X PCs have shipped for several months now; Microsoft will enable the Copilot+ capable PCs from AMD and Intel with their own updates.

Microsoft has already disclosed more details of its Recall revamp (fave.co/3YhvZjC), which the company now says can be bypassed when setting up a new PC or removed later. Windows Recall takes snapshots of your screen every so often, extracting the data and then storing it in case you need it later. The feature came under fire because of claims that it invaded user privacy and was insecure. Now, Microsoft says that it’s storing the screenshots used in Recall and the extracted data inside an encrypted enclave. Security researchers have previously said that the data was stored unencrypted.