Windows doesn’t always make things easy when searching for files. Unless you know the exact name of a file, it often returns vague web results. This tends to make searches slow and frustrating. Fortunately, Microsoft is fixing that, with simpler search…for some users. Here’s what you need to know.
As I’m sure we all know from experience, Windows search isn’t always helpful.
If you don’t recall the name of a file, Windows search often stares back at you blankly or returns random web results and an old document that are completely unrelated to your search.
It’s a pain point that many experience. Particularly, teams that use multiple files, folders and projects.
Which is to say, most teams.
Well, Microsoft is about to make life that little bit easier. They are making some welcome improvements to search.
Windows 11 is getting an update that makes searching easier, with more conversational language. Instead of trying to remember file names, you’ll be able to ask more general requests like “find notes from last month’s project meeting”. Or “show me pictures from last year’s Christmas party”. The natural language search update will help your PC understand what you mean.
The update is coming first to Copilot+ PCs, with a wider rollout expected later.
Copilot+ PCs come with AI built into the hardware via a special chip called a NPU (Neural Processing Unit). These AI powered PCs can do AI tasks without needing the internet. Which means tasks such as smarter search can be done faster and more privately with the use of Microsoft’s Copilot Assistant.
Copilot itself is built into Windows 11 & Office 365 and can already help with a wide variety of tasks such as analysing data, taking meeting notes in Teams, and now help locate files with general requests.
The feature hasn’t rolled out fully as it’s still in testing, but it is showing up in preview builds for Windows 11 on Copilot+ devices. The new feature also works with cloud files in OneDrive, which should streamline things significantly for a lot of businesses.
For those thinking of upgrading their hardware, this offers a nice incentive to make the jump. For others, they’ll have to wait, with no date for a wider rollout, yet. It’s an improvement that could save a lot of time and frustration and it’s worth keeping an eye on, as Copilot continues to advance.
If you’re considering whether Copilot+ PCs are right for your business, reach out to the Techware Team and we can help you weigh things up.
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