Microsoft wants Windows 11 to bring up Copilot on your desktop without requiring a click
What you need to know
Microsoft recently shipped Windows 11 Build 22635.3276 to Insiders in the Beta Channel.
The build is a relatively small update that mostly focuses on fixes.
The update does, however, include a change that allows Copilot in Windows to open when you hover your cursor over the Copilot icon.
Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel just received an update that brings systems to Build 22635.3276. As is the case with many Beta Channel builds of Windows 11, the update is relatively small and focuses primarily on fixes to known issues. It does, however, include one small change that's interesting.
"We are trying out a new hover experience for Copilot in Windows. When you move your mouse cursor over the Copilot icon on the taskbar, it will open the Copilot pane," said Microsoft in its blog post about the latest Beta build of Windows 11. "The Copilot pane will close unless interacted with after it opens. This will begin rolling out slowly over the next few weeks to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel."
The change will make it easier to bring up Copilot on the desktop and is similar to other functionality on Windows 11. For example, you can already summon the Widgets Panel by hovering, though the behavior is entirely optional. I imagine Microsoft will take a similar approach regarding hovering over the Copilot icon to summon the AI tool.
Microsoft is working hard to make it easy to access Copilot on Windows. The tool can already be brought up by clicking its icon in the Taskbar. New keyboards on Windows PCs will feature a Copilot button as well.
Copilot is in preview and Microsoft updates the tool regularly. The latest Windows 11 update integrates Copilot further into Windows and adds support for performing tasks like turning battery saver on or off or enabling several accessibility features. Plugin support also shipped to Copilot recently, greatly expanding its capabilities.
I'm curious to see how many of our readers actually use Copilot. I've dabbled with the tool a bit and found some nice ways to use it, but I still find Copilot to be quite limited. Do you agree or do you use Copilot regularly? Let us know in the poll above and share your thoughts in the comments below.
After voting and sharing your thoughts, you can browse through the complete change log of the latest Windows 11 Insider build.
Windows 11 Build 22635.3276
Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
Nearby Sharing
Fixed an issue where devices with long names weren’t shown in nearby sharing.
Fixed an issue where device names may unexpectedly show “????” instead of the name.
Task Manager
Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Beta Channel
Copilot in Windows*
We are trying out a new hover experience for Copilot in Windows. When you move your mouse cursor over the Copilot icon on the taskbar, it will open the Copilot pane. The Copilot pane will close unless interacted with after it opens. This will begin rolling out slowly over the next few weeks to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel.
Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel
Search
Fixed an issue where the search highlights icon in the taskbar could get out of sync with the search highlights for the day.
Known issues
Microsoft Defender Application Guard (MDAG) for Microsoft Edge users may hit a no network connection issue when browsing inside MDAG. The workaround is to disable the MDAG enterprise policy or uninstall MDAG via “Turn Windows Features on and off” and reboot. As a reminder – MDAG for Edge is a deprecated feature.
[NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing an increase in explorer.exe crashes for Insiders in the Beta Channel after the last flight.
