Microsoft dropping Copilot notification plans is a victory for users – but the fight over Windows 11’s soul continues | Tech Radar
Overview
Microsoft dropping Copilot notification plans is a victory for users – but the fight over Windows 11’s soul continues
Windows 11 users force Microsoft to drop controversial AI plans
Details
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Judith Vindas Sandino / Getty Images)
It seems there’s some good news for anyone who has despaired at Microsoft shoehorning AI features into every aspect of Windows 11, as new reports suggest the company has dropped plans to add its Copilot AI assistant to core parts of its operating system.
Back in 2024, Microsoft EVP Yusuf Mehdi promised Copilot would come to Windows 11’s Settings and File Explorer apps, and even be included in notifications.
However, while the company has been adding AI features to Windows 11, despite many users showing a disinterest – or downright hostility – to those additions, the features Mehdi showed off a few years ago have yet to appear.
Microsoft rumored to be cutting back AI ambitions in bid to save Windows 11
AI haters be warned – Windows 11's folders may get a big dose of Copilot AI
New Windows 11 preview provides more details on how AI agents will work
As our sister site Windows Central reports, it seems the delay of the highly controversial Recall feature could be behind the decision to drop further Copilot AI features in certain parts of Windows 11.
Recall continuously took screenshots while you used your PC so that the AI could search them in a bid to make finding things on your machine easier, but instead ended up being a privacy nightmare.
You might… recall… that Recall was initially a big part of Microsoft’s advertising push for Copilot+ PCs – essentially any Windows 11 laptop or desktop that has an NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
However, once critics and users alike started pointing out that having everything on your screen being constantly recorded and stored could be a rather major privacy violation, Microsoft later delayed adding Recall, and belatedly released it as a ‘beta’ test that’s turned off by default. It is still in beta, seemingly waiting for Microsoft to address the numerous concerns people raised about it.
That backlash has apparently made Microsoft cautious about adding AI features to Windows 11 with the Copilot branding, and while that doesn’t mean the company will completely stop adding AI features, Windows Central suggests that this is why we’ve not seen Copilot in Settings and File Explorer.
In fact, I wouldn’t get your hopes up that Microsoft has had some sort of road-to-Damascus realization over how unpopular its decision to add AI features rather than fix some rather fundamental flaws in Windows 11 has been. As Windows Central suggests, the continued work on fixing Recall appears to have put some of Microsoft’s more ambitious AI features on hold.
If Microsoft somehow finds a way to adjust Recall to address people’s privacy concerns, while retaining the original goal of the feature and proving that it’s a feature people should use, then the influx of AI features into Windows 11 could resume.
Almost 3 years later, it's time to admit that Microsoft Copilot was a mistake
The 5 AI features you should actually use in Windows 11
Microsoft is finally fixing Windows 11 under the hood — but is it too late?
Also, the report suggests to me that rather than putting Microsoft off from adding AI features, it’s just stopping Microsoft from labelling them as ‘Copilot’ – perhaps in a bid to stop the Copilot brand getting further damaged by unpopular features.
In fact, Microsoft has added AI features to both the Settings app and File Explorer, but they are not as integrated as the features Mehdi presented in 2024, nor do they reference Copilot.
As much as I’d love for Microsoft to drop its AI obsession and get to work making Windows 11 a decent operating system, I just can’t see it happening. The company has invested far too much in AI for it to give up now. It’s also stuck with the Copilot brand, despite it being (in typical Microsoft fashion) a terrible name, and that brand is going to get damaged every time a bad product, feature or service is thrust onto users under the Copilot label.
Microsoft, then, needs to try to keep Copilot separate from the ‘Microslop’ accusations. While you might hope the company would do this by cutting down on poorly thought out AI features, it seems we might still get them, but with fewer Copilot mentions.
Until then, I’m afraid I’m going to continue to use my mac OS-powered devices until Windows 11 becomes a more appealing operating system that actually works well, rather than a Trojan horse used to justify the company’s AI obsession.
Still, there are reasons to be positive. When Windows Central reached out to Microsoft, a spokesperson responded saying: “Our approach to product development is to preview with customers and evolve with feedback. Some experiences we may preview privately and update before rolling out more broadly, while others we may preview and iterate publicly with feedback from Windows Insiders,” which suggests Microsoft is taking user feedback on board.
Coupled with reports that Microsoft is cutting down on adding AI features to Windows 11, and instead actually fixing the operating system, I’m hopeful that the company is finally paying attention to its customers who have so far not been too impressed with the AI push, especially as it seems to have come at the expense of quality control. I just hope it’s not too little, too late.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops
- Best overall: Apple Mac Book Air 13-inch M4
- Best budget: Asus Chromebook CM14
- Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
- Best gaming: Razer Blade 16
- Best for pros Mac Book Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro)
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow Tech Radar on You Tube and Tik Tok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on Whats App too.
Matt is Tech Radar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining Tech Radar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
1 Last One Laughing UK season 2 has 'too many brilliant moments to mention'
2'So much of the work is going to be done by agents': Service Now CEO says graduate unemployment could reach 30% because of AI agents
3 What is the release date for Invincible season 4 episodes 1 to 3 on Prime Video?
4 Global PC shipments set to plummet in 2026 as memory and storage shortages bite
5 Sony PS-LX5BT review: the turntable with big shoes to fill, that fills them beautifully
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
-
Microsoft dropping Copilot notification plans is a victory for users – but the fight over Windows 11’s soul continues
-
Windows 11 users force Microsoft to drop controversial AI plans
-
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission
-
(Image credit: Judith Vindas Sandino / Getty Images)
-
It seems there’s some good news for anyone who has despaired at Microsoft shoehorning AI features into every aspect of Windows 11, as new reports suggest the company has dropped plans to add its Copilot AI assistant to core parts of its operating system
