Microsoft is giving Copilot more control over Windows and your files

At today’s Windows and Surface event, Microsoft showed off an upgrade to its Copilot AI system that will give it access to local files on your PC and the ability to take actions across the OS. It’s part of an idea Microsoft is calling “Hybrid Intelligence,” where apps and tools rely on a mix of local and cloud AI models to accomplish tasks efficiently.

To show off how Hybrid Intelligence works, Jacob Andreou, Microsoft’s EVP of Copilot, walked through a video demo on stage asking Microsoft’s Autopilot tool to help with filing taxes. Andreou told the AI agent that he got an email from his accountant and asked Autopilot to get her what she needs. Autopilot then used Hybrid Intelligence to search across different folders to find the documents, rename the files, zip them into a folder, and draft an email to send to the accountant with the zip file attached.

Features powered by Hybrid Intelligence will be coming to Copilot over the “next couple months,” Andreou said.

Microsoft also showed off a new Windows search experience that lets you take quick actions from the search bar, like turning on dark mode, turning up your mic volume with an in-line slider, or even sending a text. The new experience will be available starting this fall on Windows 11 PCs, according to Windows and Surface boss Pavan Davuluri.