Microsoft is giving Copilot more control over Windows and local files

Microsoft demonstrated an upgraded Copilot that can access files on a PC and take actions across Windows, The Verge reports. The feature uses a mix of local and cloud AI models, an approach Microsoft calls “Hybrid Intelligence”.

Why it matters

In a tax-filing demonstration, the system found documents, renamed them and put them in a folder for an accountant. The feature is due in the coming months, so this is a preview, not a new capability to switch on today. Giving an assistant access to local files could make it more useful, but also puts the boundaries of its access in the spotlight.

Discuss: Would you let Copilot organise personal files if you could see and control exactly what it can reach?

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Update What changed
Microsoft also showed a new Windows Search experience that lets people act directly from the search bar, including switching on dark mode and adjusting microphone volume with an in-line slider. It can also send a text, turning the familiar box into something more than a place to type a query.

Microsoft says the redesigned Search will begin arriving on Windows 11 PCs this autumn. That is a separate near-term change from the Copilot file-handling features expected over the coming months.

In the Copilot demonstration, the assistant also zipped the files it had gathered and drafted an email to the accountant with the folder attached. Microsoft’s demonstration points to two different ways of making Windows more action-oriented: quick controls in Search, and an assistant handling a longer task across local files.
Sources and evidence
- Microsoft is giving Copilot more control over Windows and your files - The Verge: The Verge reports that Microsoft demonstrated Windows Search quick actions, including dark mode, microphone volume and texting, with availability planned for Windows 11 PCs this autumn. It also reports that Copilot zipped gathered files and drafted an email attachment in its tax-filing demonstration.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.