Microsoft recently decided to take a break from rolling out new Copilot features for Windows 11 users. The company which is reportedly developing its in-house AI model announced the news last week with the release of the Beta Channel Build 22635.3570 for Windows 11.
Microsoft halts public rollout of new Copilot features in Windows 11
This is the first instance of Microsoft taking a break since Copilot’s introduction to Windows 11 in September 2023. Previous to this, Microsoft has been continuously updating Copilot’s experience in Windows 11. Most of the Windows 11 updates rolled out by the company used to have a few changes related to Copilot. However, the company seems to have a change of plans. In a part of the changelog for the new Beta Build 22635.3570 for Windows 11 the company announced the break, it adds:
“Over the last few months, we’ve been trying out different experiences for Copilot in Windows (Preview) with Windows Insiders across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Some of these experiences include the ability for Copilot in Windows to act like a normal application window and the taskbar icon animating to indicate that Copilot can help when you copy text or images. We have decided to pause the rollouts of these experiences to further refine them based on user feedback. Copilot in Windows will continue to work as expected while we continue to evolve new ideas with Windows Insiders.”
That said, it is a good thing for a company to improve its existing products. But, the decision from the tech giant is quite surprising as it came out of the blue.
Copilot has been a topic of controversy
Time will tell when Microsoft ends this break and rolls out new Copilot features for Windows 11. But, one thing is sure Copilot has had a rough patch ever since its introduction. And, it has been criticized for troubling users. Earlier this year, Microsoft’s AI engineer addressed concerns about Copilot generating inappropriate images in an open letter to FTC and the company. Moreover, there were reports about a possible ban on Copilot by the US Congress citing some security concerns.
