Microsoft is rewriting Windows to turn computers into AI PCs that users can chat with.
As Microsoft says goodbye to Windows 10 and prepares to celebrate 40 years of its operating system, it's looking ahead to the future of Windows. While an announcement for Windows 12 isn't imminent, Microsoft aims to turn every Windows 11 PC into an AI PC controlled by Copilot.
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Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and head of consumer marketing at Microsoft, said: “We believe we are on the cusp of the next evolution, where AI is not just in the chatbot but is naturally integrated into the hundreds of millions of experiences people use every day. Our vision is: to rewrite the entire operating system around AI and essentially create what becomes the AI PC.”
Microsoft is rolling out new features in Windows that will bring AI capabilities to regular Windows 11 PCs, eliminating the need for consumers to purchase a dedicated Copilot Plus PC. The main change is the expectation that users will want to interact with their PCs, allowing Copilot to take actions on their behalf.
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To facilitate this, Microsoft is leveraging Copilot's Voice and Vision capabilities, introducing a new wake word, "Hey, Copilot!", that's rolling out to Windows 11 PCs. Mehdi noted, "In our minds, voice will now become the third input mechanism for you to use with your PC. It's not necessarily replacing the keyboard and mouse, but it's something additive and it's going to be quite profound and a new way to do it."
Historically, Microsoft has tried to encourage users to use voice features like Cortana on Windows 10 PCs and has integrated various voice features for accessibility over the past 40 years. Mehdi believes AI will lead to a change in user behavior, making the idea of speaking to a computer more acceptable.
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However, there are doubts that most users will embrace the idea of talking to their computers, despite its benefits for accessibility and tasks like app help. For AI to effectively control a computer and perform actions on the user's behalf, it must first be given access to see what's on the screen. And that's something that many users may not like.
