- A new preview version is now available with more work on AI agents
- It shows how they will work in the taskbar, although Microsoft is still experimenting with the details.
- There is continued backlash to Microsoft’s current focus on AI
The latest Windows 11 preview has provided a clearer look at some of the practical aspects of how AI agents will work in the operating system and also introduces a number of other changes.
Microsoft’s blog post explains what’s new in preview build 26220.7523 in the Dev and Beta channels. There are several notable additions, including the aforementioned AI introductions, which have once again sparked some controversy.
For starters, this new preview brings the Ask Copilot box to the taskbar for business customers (this already arrived in consumer testing) and Microsoft reminds us that you can invoke AI agents directly from there.
Microsoft is also moving forward with testing how AI agents will actually work in the taskbar. Here we have an example that focuses on Researcher, one of the agents initially planned for Windows 11, which, as the name suggests, autonomously performs research for you (with access to certain files granted for that purpose). You can “drill down into a topic and create a detailed report” and you can track the agent’s progress in the taskbar.
Microsoft is testing a feature where hovering your mouse cursor over the Co-Pilot or Investigator icon in the taskbar will give you real-time updates to the agent’s reasoning, so you can check the AI’s progress at a glance. Microsoft is also experimenting with whether Investigation (or other agents) should be a separate icon on the taskbar or included in the Copilot icon.
Those who want to keep the taskbar down may lean towards the latter idea, although keen agent users who have multiple AIs working on tasks may prefer those icons to be separate.
Microsoft further notes that with this preview version it is introducing Agent Launchers for Windows 11, which is a “new framework that allows Windows applications to register AI agents and make them discoverable throughout the system.”
Basically, this is the basis for allowing third-party agents (aside from Microsoft’s own agents like Researcher, Copilot, or Analyst) to work on Windows 11 and integrate with the Ask Copilot box (and Microsoft 365 Copilot).
Elsewhere in this preview, there is a change for File Explorer, where everyday users will now see people icons on the File Explorer home page. These will appear in the ‘Activity’ column and Recent or Recommended sections, meaning that when you mouse over a person’s icon, you’ll get key details about that person in a pop-up card (allowing you to send them a message, initiate a call, etc.).
It’s a potentially useful change, but one that will only apply to consumers who are signed in with their Microsoft account on Windows 11.
Another step forward here is that Microsoft has fixed the ‘flashbang’ bug with File Explorer, fixing the remaining issues where people were still seeing white flashes when switching tabs in File Explorer.
Voice Access also benefits from an improved setup process to make it easier to get started with this feature, and voice typing with the touch keyboard has been revamped to make it more intuitive.
Analysis: AI still bothers some people
This represents a big step forward with AI agents, and it should be interesting to see how these entities are presented in the taskbar at the end. As noted, it will largely be a subjective question whether you want agents to have their own separate icons on the taskbar or be integrated with the Ask Copilot box. So perhaps the best approach, as always, is for Microsoft to present options in that regard, so people can choose their own preferences.
Many people would prefer that Microsoft not be working on AI agents at all, and there is still a backlash to this (as can be seen in the official Reddit thread introducing the new preview). Yes, you don’t need to turn on AI agents if you don’t want them, neither in current testing nor at launch when they finally roll out to all of us, but people are still unhappy that Microsoft is prioritizing their development over more fundamental issues with Windows 11.
As we see in the comment that has reached the top of that Reddit thread, he again repeats the line that Microsoft should not be forced to work on AI ‘stuff’ (moderated language) instead of solving ‘UX problems’ (issues with user experience – interface and performance).
And it has to be said, there are certainly arguments to be made here, and while I don’t expect Microsoft to stop developing AI features (that, frankly, will never happen), a better balance can definitely be struck between progress and refinement of what already exists in Windows 11.
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