When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Did Microsoft do anything right in 2025? From AI overload to price hikes, little Microsoft did during 2025 was worth applauding. Can you name one single, solitary, success Microsoft had in 2025? In the years that PCWorld has catalogued Microsoft's wins, failures, and head-scratching "WTF" moments, there's always been a mix of high points and lows.

As Windows 10 Support Ends, Microsoft Is'Rewriting' Windows 11 Around AI All Windows 11 users will soon be able to talk to the Copilot AI assistant more easily via voice, and Copilot Vision can understand the context of your screen. Microsoft saved its most powerful AI tools for paying customers in the first phase of its AI evolution. Now, the company has announced a series of Copilot features coming to all Windows 11 PCs, including Voice, Copilot Vision, and Copilot Actions. Alongside the update, Microsoft is launching an ad campaign to expose people to these new features. Windows 10 support ended on October 14, and we're about to see a wave of people upgrade to Windows 11; Microsoft seems intent on putting advanced Copilot features at the fingertips of as many people as possible--and convincing them they're worth using.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Microsoft's Copilot AI technologies will be able to see more and connect to a greater range of files. Copilot Vision's eyesight is improving, as the integrated Windows AI technology will soon be able to see entire documents, plus link to apps like Google Drive via a new connectors function. Separately, Microsoft is adding Copilot to the Windows 11 taskbar and making "Hey Copilot" a wake word for the Windows AI app. It's part of the company's effort to expand its presence across your PC.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. It was inevitable: Microsoft plans to carve out space on the Windows 11 taskbar for Copilot, while adding "Hey Copilot" as a wake word to trigger interactions with its AI. While the company isn't making any overt changes to the branding of Windows 11, its executives this week spoke about reinventing the "AI PC," the first generation of PCs it launched with early NPUs. Microsoft plans to make PCs smarter, including agents that can take actions and granting Copilot Vision more powers. Adding Copilot to the taskbar will actually be the most visible change to the Windows 11 user interface.

Can you imagine yourself having a conversation with Windows about what your PC is doing? Microsoft's Windows chief can, and is trying to build a future where those interactions are the norm. In an interview with Microsoft AI product manager Christiaan Brinkhoff, the chief of Microsoft's Windows Devices group, Pavan Davuluri, explained that the company is trying to work toward a future where you can access Windows pretty much anywhere via the cloud, then use AI to fine-tune what you're trying to accomplish. Microsoft described the conversation as "the next chapter of Windows," with an eye toward delivering the changes within the next few years. Davuluri described what he hoped the Windows team could accomplish from a strategic level, without targeting any future version of Windows with these goals in mind.

Beginning today, Microsoft is debuting Copilot Mode for Edge, an experimental version of Edge that places Copilot front and center on new tabs and allows it to see the content on all of your open tabs. Tip-toeing into this space, Microsoft is describing Copilot Mode for Edge as "experimental" and "free for a limited time," suggesting that it will eventually become part of a paid subscription. Usage limits will apply, though Microsoft isn't saying what they are yet. Microsoft is also saying that Copilot Mode is optional, opt-in, and can be flipped on or off via the Settings panel at any time. Turn it on, however, and the "new tab" page -- which typically mimics the Windows widgets panel with news and other content supplied by MSN and other publications -- will be replaced with a simple Copilot box like the one above, similar to the box on the Copilot app itself.

Stop us if you've heard this before: You can now talk to your PC's built-in AI. But in Windows 11, Cortana has been replaced with Windows Copilot, and you can now interact with Copilot by saying "Hey, Copilot" instead. Microsoft is testing the new feature within the Windows Insider program. If your PC is unlocked, and you've configured it to accept the "Hey Copilot" wake words, you can now interact with Copilot verbally. The Copilot UI will launch as a small microphone icon.

The whole point of Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows is that it's like an AI assistant, looking over your shoulder as you struggle through a task and making suggestions. So, I was pretty convinced that if Microsoft were to release Copilot Vision for testing, it would be able to do something simple like help me play Windows Solitaire. Sometimes, Microsoft's new Copilot Vision for Windows feels like a real step forward for useful AI: this emerging Windows technology sees what you see on your screen, allowing you to talk to your PC and ask it for help. Unfortunately, that step ahead is often followed by that cliché: two steps back. Copilot Vision for Windows is, at times, genuinely helpful. Outside of some nostalgic tears by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the announcement of Copilot Vision for Windows was the highlight of Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration at the company's Redmond, Washington campus.

It can be difficult to keep up with all the new artificial intelligence tools. You may even have access to numerous AI features and resources that you haven't had the time to notice. For example, Copilot Vision is now free for everyone to use in Microsoft Edge. That's perhaps not something you've realized if you don't use Edge as your regular browser, or if you've never heard of Copilot Vision. It's an extension of Microsoft's Copilot AI that can essentially'see' what you're looking at on the web.

Microsoft unveiled a swath of new AI features during its 50th birthday bash in Redmond last week, and I got to try many of them. Copilot Vision holds the most potential for consumers, but Copilot's shopping features aren't far behind. If you're concerned about Copilot's new Memory and Personality traits, I wouldn't be -- it looks way too early to get a sense of what it will eventually be. Those were my impressions after sampling most of the new Copilot demonstrations on display at Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration. Microsoft talked about its vision for a personable Copilot that could shop for you and walk you through tech issues step-by-step.