New AI-Powered Features Coming to Windows 11: Search, Generative Fill, and More

Microsoft is enhancing the list of built-in AI features in Windows 11 with several new capabilities, including AI-driven Windows Search, Click to Do, Generative Fill and Erase, and Super Resolution in Photos.

Click to Do activates when you press the Windows key and click your mouse. It scans your display and offers a variety of useful shortcuts, such as Visual Search in Bing, background blur or removal, shopping assistance, and more. This feature also assists with text management by rewriting, summarizing, or explaining content. Click to Do functions seamlessly across all screens and applications.

Windows Search has faced considerable criticism, but Microsoft is addressing it with AI enhancements. The revised search allows users to utilize natural language for locating files without needing to know their exact names. It is also capable of understanding misspellings, identifying items in images, and more—all of this functionality is available without an internet connection.

The updated search will initially launch in File Explorer, with plans for broader integration into Windows Search and Settings search. The latter will assist users in locating features or options by enabling them to describe their needs in casual language, such as, “add my headphones.”

Super Resolution in Photos is designed to enhance and upscale low-resolution images by up to eight times. The Photos app will provide options to adjust the level of upscaling and compare the enhanced image with the original. Microsoft claims that Neural Processing Units will process these tasks “within seconds, for free,”eliminating the need for lengthy wait times.

Image upscaling in Windows 11's Photos app

Generative Fill and Erase in Paint is now included alongside the existing Cocreator capabilities in Windows 11’s default image editor. The latest update allows users to select an area for removal.

Additionally, users can select a region and instruct Paint using natural language on what to add to the image. You can approve the suggestion by clicking “Looks good”or choose to regenerate the result if desired.

Ultimately, Microsoft has improved the model behind these features to deliver faster and better results, ensuring that its built-in moderation prevents harmful content from being generated in Paint.

All these AI-driven features will be available exclusively on Copilot+ PCs that have compatible processors from Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD. Microsoft has announced that Windows Insiders will have the opportunity to explore these features later this month, with a public rollout expected in November.

Alongside these advancements, Microsoft has also revealed the rollout of Windows 11 version 24H2 and significant Copilot upgrades, which include Copilot Vision and Copilot Think Deeper.

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