In the latest previews of Windows 11, hints of a functionality known as “AI-powered Taskbar companions” have appeared, indicating that Microsoft may be planning to incorporate artificial intelligence assistants into the Taskbar in the coming months.
A conveniently placed system button on your Taskbar, similar to the System Tray, could serve as an access point for an AI assistant. By simply clicking this button, users can summon a helpful AI interface or pop-up window that assists with ongoing tasks or activities displayed on their screen. This button remains readily accessible within the Taskbar, appearing only when enabled by the user.
The functionality can be expanded, enabling users to easily access their preferred AI assistant from the Taskbar. In fact, Microsoft is eager to increase Copilot’s popularity compared to other options in the market. Competitors like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others are all vying for the same user base. Ideally, Microsoft hopes that most Windows users will opt for Copilot.
For the past year, Microsoft has been developing numerous AI-based experiences for Windows 11, many of which need new hardware under the Copilot+ brand to work effectively. The latest addition to this is Click To Do, a feature that offers an AI interface accessible by pressing and holding the Windows key on your keyboard.
The Click To Do feature functions similarly to Google’s Circle to Search, which utilizes AI technology to analyze your screen, identifying both images and text. It then offers relevant actions based on the content it detects. This tool is incredibly useful for tasks such as extracting text from images or gaining additional information about a word or image that appears within an application.
The “Taskbar companions” feature might link up with “Click To Do,” creating a Taskbar button that users can click for easy access to an overlay, whenever they need it. At present, users can only reach “Click To Do” through a keyboard shortcut or by manually finding and opening the app from the Windows Start menu.
In an ideal scenario, the Taskbar Companion feature is designed to work seamlessly with the Windows Copilot application. Given Microsoft’s hints about the future of Windows being more agentive, it’s no wonder that Microsoft is already exploring methods to provide quick access to agentive experiences right from the Taskbar in Windows 11.
In a recently released video titled “Windows 2030 Vision,” Microsoft suggested that upcoming versions of Windows may prioritize voice input as the main method for user interaction. This could potentially mean introducing an assistant feature that allows users to control their system verbally, such as asking the virtual assistant to open applications and files, navigate websites, and perform other tasks.
As a tech-savvy individual, I can’t help but envision the potential of Copilot Vision. Imagine an AI assistant that can peer over my shoulder, viewing my screen just like I do. Currently, most of its features are discoverable, but require me to actively seek them out within specific apps. However, a companion feature on the Taskbar could make these capabilities more intuitive and unobtrusive, presenting them to me in a way that feels more organic and ambient, as if they were always there, ready to assist whenever needed.
It’s probably going to take several months before we can definitively say what Microsoft intends to do with the Taskbar and AI assistants in relation to Windows 11. As additional strings and code are incorporated into the preview builds, we’ll gradually gain a clearer picture of the new feature that Microsoft seems to be developing behind closed doors.
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- Wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell Undergoes Leg Amputation
- ENA PREDICTION. ENA cryptocurrency
- PS5’s ChinaJoy Booth Needs to Be Seen to Be Believed
- Microsoft is on track to become the second $4 trillion company by market cap, following NVIDIA — and mass layoffs
- AI-powered malware eludes Microsoft Defender’s security checks 8% of the time — with just 3 months of training and “reinforcement learning” for around $1,600
- xAI’s $300/month Grok 4, billed as a “maximally truth-seeking AI” — seemingly solicits Elon Musk’s opinion on controversial topics
- Anime’s Greatest Summer 2024 Shonen Hit Drops New Look Ahead of Season 2
- Lewis Capaldi Details “Mental Episode” That Led to Him “Convulsing”
- Minecraft lets you get the Lava Chicken song in-game — but it’s absurdly rare
2025-08-12 14:37