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Set aside your mouse and keyboard. Microsoft really wants you to talk to your Windows 11 PC.
Today, the company unveiled new features for its Copilot AI assistant, also highlighting how it believes voice interactions can sometimes provide a better experience than typing and clicking.
“You should be able to talk to a PC and have it understand you,” Microsoft Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi told journalists. “In our minds, voice will become the third input mechanism to use on your PC.”
Talking to your computer or phone is nothing new (remember Cortana?). But Microsoft is signaling its ongoing enhancements to Copilot have made the assistant smart enough to excel at understanding natural conversation and carrying out the commands. The improvements also apply to all Windows 11 PCs, not just Copilot+ hardware.
(Credit: Microsoft)
According to Mehdi, this can make today’s Windows 11 machines truly “AI PCs,” a term the tech industry has been promoting but is still working to achieve. A key differentiator from other chatbot tech is how Copilot can be used across the OS, the browser, Microsoft programs, and even for a few third-party apps through a recently announced “Connector” function.
“We think we’re on the cusp of the next evolution, which is where AI happens not just in that chatbot, but gets naturally integrated into the hundreds of millions of experiences that people use every day,” Mehdi added.
As part of this push, Microsoft is making “Hey, Copilot” the default wake word for the assistant across Windows 11, following its initial rollout to Insiders in May. The voice command “goodbye” has also been added as a convenient way to end a conversation.
In addition, the company is displaying a new “Ask Copilot” text box in the Windows 11 taskbar, making the assistant even more visible.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Perhaps the most intriguing new feature is Copilot Actions, which can complete tasks on your behalf. The company already introduced the function for the web, enabling the assistant to book an online dinner reservation for you or buy a book. That said, it doesn’t offer full automation and requires the user to submit information periodically, as our hands-on testing found.
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Microsoft now wants to test Copilot Actions for local files on your PC. The experimental mode will be available to beta users in Windows Insiders in Copilot Labs, enabling Copilot to sort through your photos, extract information from PDFs, or edit files in bulk. The same function can interact with both desktop and web applications, as long as you grant it permission.
(Credit: Microsoft)
“While this is happening, you can choose to focus on other tasks. At any time, you can take over the task or check in on the progress of the action, including reviewing what actions have been taken,” Microsoft says.
Despite the voice emphasis, Microsoft also acknowledges that the keyboard and mouse remain primary inputs. On Wednesday, the company demoed some of the Copilot functions to PCMag through voice commands. But interestingly, Copilot struggled to function normally because the demo was happening in a noisy restaurant. It’s why the company is adding text support to Copilot Vision, which lets the AI assistant view and understand what’s displayed on your PC’s desktop to answer your queries.
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“Previously, you could only use Vision using voice, and Copilot would coach you through it aloud,” Microsoft noted in a blog post. But in an upcoming release for Windows Insiders, Copilot Vision can work with your keyboard and display the corresponding answer with text.
(Credit: Microsoft)
The company is touting these features when 40% of Windows desktop users remain on the older, now-unsupported Windows 10. Market analysts also say the PC market has stagnated, suggesting consumers don’t see a major need to upgrade.
The new Copilot push might convince some to finally buy in. Still, there are drawbacks with voice commands. They can expose your private details to anyone nearby while generating noise, especially if everyone else is talking to their computer. To operate, Microsoft’s Copilot also needs to collect some data from your PC, although the company says: “Once the Copilot Vision session ends, all images, audio, and context are deleted.”
The other issue is how generative AI can hallucinate. Microsoft itself notes that Copilot Actions could produce the wrong output or even be susceptible to “prompt injection attacks,” where text in a web page or document is misinterpreted as a command and executed.
(Credit: Microsoft)
As a safeguard, Microsoft is asking users to opt in to the Copilot experiences first. The company is also imposing limits on the capabilities, explaining, “There is a well-defined boundary for the agent’s actions, and it has no ability to make changes to your device without your intervention. This access can be revoked at any time.”
In terms of privacy, Microsoft tells PCMag: “Your personal interactions with our services are kept private and are not disclosed without your permission. We remove information that may identify you, like names, phone numbers, device or account identifiers, sensitive personal data, physical addresses, and email addresses, before training AI models.”
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Michael Kan
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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