Microsoft quietly scraps plans to bring Copilot to notifications and Settings on Windows 11 as it moves to reduce AI bloat across the OS

Microsoft has shelved plans to ship a number of Copilot-branded AI features on Windows 11 that were first announced alongside Copilot+ PCs in 2024. These features would have seen Copilot integrated into several system-level UIs such as the Settings app, notifications, and File Explorer.

These features were very briefly demoed by Microsoft EVP Yusef Mehdi on stage, and he even confirmed that the features would begin shipping later that year. But 2024 came and went, and these features never arrived, even in preview form. It's now almost two years since those features were announced, and there's still no sign of them.

According to my sources, the plan to use Copilot as an umbrella term for AI on Windows was put on the backburner not long after Windows Recall was delayed. As Microsoft scrambled to address issues with Recall, a number of other AI-features that were in the pipeline were essentially put on pause.

As things stabilized, Microsoft began bringing more AI features to the platform, but much of it was without the Copilot brand attached. Settings and File Explorer on Windows 11 now have their own array of AI features and capabilities instead.

Settings has built-in semantic search, which also suggests settings you might want to configure. File Explorer did end up getting an AI actions menu, but unlike the original Copilot version from 2024, what we have in File Explorer today hands-off to other apps, whereas the Copilot version could handle those actions "without opening an app," as stated by Mehdi.

The feature that we haven't seen in any capacity is Copilot suggestions in notifications. That feature would have seen Copilot appear in pop up notifications from apps with one-click actions such as opening a file or replying to messages. I'm told this is unlikely to ever ship on Windows as a Copilot feature now, though the concept may be revisited in the future.

Even the Windows Copilot Runtime was eventually renamed to "Windows AI APIs." If you look at where the Copilot brand appears in Windows now, much if it is tied to Microsoft 365 experiences, with less focus on Copilot being an ambient AI assistant that exists across Windows, as was originally portrayed in 2024.

When reached out for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said the following:

"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. In both of these cases, features may change, be removed, or replaced over time as we gather input from customers."

People familiar with Microsoft's plans say the company is moving to reduce AI bloat across Windows 11 this year, and is striving to be more tactful about where the Copilot brand and AI experiences appear in system apps and interfaces. This is all part of a larger effort to address major criticism and concerns from users who believe Windows 11 has become bloated and enshittified with AI.

While that doesn't mean Microsoft is stripping all AI capabilities out of the OS, user will notice the company be more deliberate about where these things appear going forward. It will still exist where necessary or most useful, but these features will be optional and disable-able. The company wants people to view Windows 11 in a positive light again, and it's hoping scaling back on AI across the OS will help towards that goal.

💬 Will reducing Copilot branding and capabilities on Windows 11 help its reputation?

I'm really interested to know what you think about Microsoft's strategy when it comes to handling AI on Windows 11 right now. It's clear the company cannot continue bombarding users with unwanted AI features, and reducing where Copilot appears and what AI experiences ship is a good start.

But will this help turn the tide and improve sentiment around the OS? Let me know what you think in the comments.

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