Notepad adds tables and more AI, leaving users asking who wanted this

Notepad on Windows 11 — Notepad earned its following by being a lightweight application with little fluff. (Image credit: Future)

Windows 11's Notepad app has new features in the works, and not everyone is happy about them. Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channel on Windows 11 can now test two new features for Notepad.

Microsoft announced the additions recently in a blog post.

Lightweight formatting in Notepad is being expanded to support tables. Those with access to the experimental features can insert tables into a document to structure notes.

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Notepad supports adding tables through a formatting toolbar or by using Markdown syntax.

The addition of tables is a continuation of Microsoft's work to add formatting to Notepad. Back in May, the tech giant added support for bold and italics, hyperlinks, lists, and headings.

More controversially, Notepad has also gained new capabilities. The app now supports streaming responses when using the Write, Rewrite, and Summarize tools. This makes responses appear more quickly.

Normally speeding up a feature is a welcome change, but online feedback suggests that improved speed fails to counteract the fact that many do not want AI in Notepad at all.

Notepad backlash

Notepad with extra features — Notepad has gained several features of late, not all of which have been well received. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Many have already complained about Microsoft adding more AI to Notepad.

"Why are they not letting notepad be the super light and efficient tool that it is," said Reddit user chobolicious88. "I swear, MS doesnt even understand their own products, just feature bloat at this point."

Similar sentiments were shared by several people in the same thread.

"I don’t even trust using Notepad anymore. It used to be a super light, simple tool for quick notes and now it comes baked with AI and a bunch of unnecessary features nobody asked for," said user FrozeGate. "At this point, they might as well have everyone use Word instead."

Others joked about how Microsoft killed WordPad only to gradually add features from that app into Notepad.

AI fatigue is a growing issue. Tech giants, including Microsoft, continue to push AI and introduce AI features where many feel those tools are unnecessary. The reaction to the latest addition to Notepad is another echo of the growing frustration across the community.

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Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.