Microsoft integrates Copilot into Windows 11 on 26 September

Microsoft announced new hardware and software at its September event. For consumers, the company is offering two new laptops that can be pre-ordered immediately. You can find out more about the new hardware in the following article:

Copilot for Windows 11

Microsoft unveiled the new Windows 11 Copilot back in May and announced it for this autumn. And now the time has come. It will be rolled out with a major update on 26 September. This will give every user a personal AI assistant that Microsoft will integrate into all its programmes. In addition to answering complex questions, the assistant will analyse images and texts, create summaries or rewrite texts.

According to Microsoft, Copilot will fundamentally change our relationship with computers and how we work with them. It is designed to make our work easier and faster. You can call it up at any time in the taskbar or by pressing the Windows+C key combination. It then appears on the right-hand side of the screen. If you select a text, for example, it should pop up automatically and make suggestions as to what should be done with the selection.

You can get a good overview of Copilot in the short announcement video from May. If you want to know even more, take a look at yesterday's event, which largely revolves around the AI assistant:

New features for Windows tools

At the same time, many Windows tools are receiving AI-based improvements. In Paint, artificial intelligence will ensure that you can remove backgrounds and work with layers, for example. Photos also recognises backgrounds and not only makes them disappear, but also blurs them at the touch of a button. This allows you to emphasise the subject without time-consuming editing. The photo search has also been improved. If images are stored on OneDrive, they can be found based on the content or the location where they were taken.

In the Snipping Tool, Microsoft has added the option to select and extract text in the image. If you use it to create a video, it is now also possible to add an audio track. Microphones are supported with immediate effect.

The video editing software Clipchamp uses AI to generate automatic scene suggestions. You can also cut a long video into a short one without having to lift a finger. Clipchamp is supposed to catch the best parts.

Slightly less intelligent, but also practical, is that Notepad is equipped with an automatic save function. It saves seamlessly as you type. The app also remembers tabs. If you close and open them, you will always continue where you left off.

If you would like to link accounts from Gmail, Yahoo and others with the Windows mail programme, you can do this in Outlook in future. Microsoft has revised the programme for this purpose. In future, AI tools will ensure that your emails come across clearly and concisely.

Microsoft has made further improvements to File Explorer, whose start page, address bar and search field have been modernised. Windows is also getting a new voice for speech output and an improved Windows Backup, which should make it easier to switch to a new PC.

Bing Chat gets image generation and personalised responses

Bing Chat is also getting an update. OpenAI's text-to-image generator DALL-E will now challenge your imagination. It creates images in seconds - no matter what. You can customise them within seconds by entering more text. These images are given an AI marker so that it is clear that they were not created by a human.

The AI chatbot also has the option of giving personalised answers. It uses the chat history to do this. If it knows from previous chats that you are a fan of Marvel films, it can suggest a suitable cinema visit and possible viewing times when planning your next city break. It is also possible to deactivate this function.

Microsoft 365 Copilot available for companies from 1 November

The Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to speed up the work process in companies too. Microsoft introduced it back in March. It helps you in your day-to-day work with Office programmes by showing you the most important emails of the week, for example. Or it can create a PowerPoint presentation, a pivot table or a SWOT analysis in no time at all. It can also create a blog post based on your wishes and much more.

Microsoft 365 Chat, which was introduced earlier this year as Business Chat, is also part of Copilot. You can find out what it can do in the following video:

Microsoft 365 Copilot will be available as an option for Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3 and E5 subscriptions from 1 November and will cost USD 30 per month per employee. <p