As Windows 10 Support Ends, Microsoft Is ‘Rewriting’ Windows 11 Around AI (www.wired.com)

Microsoft is rolling out a major Copilot push across all Windows 11 PCs—bringing voice control ("Hey, Copilot"), Copilot Vision (screen-aware assistance) and Copilot Actions (agent-like automation) to a far broader audience as Windows 10 support ends. The company is also launching an ad campaign timed to the upgrade wave, and has started exposing Connectors to Windows Insiders so Copilot can open files, read emails, and interact with third‑party services like Gmail and Google Calendar (with user permission). Some higher‑end capabilities and faster on‑device processing remain exclusive to Copilot+ devices with NPUs. Technically, Copilot Vision provides contextual understanding of what’s on-screen (including off‑screen content in Office apps) via a floating “Highlights” toolbar, reducing the need for lengthy prompts; paired with voice it aims to make speech a “third input” alongside keyboard and mouse. Copilot Actions lets the assistant perform tasks inside apps—e.g., toggle settings, batch-edit photos, or extract data from PDFs—previously available only in enterprise 365 Copilot. The rollout signals Microsoft’s intent to reorient Windows toward AI-driven interaction and local automation, but adoption will hinge on usability, privacy/permissions management, and whether mainstream Windows users embrace voice and agentic assistants at scale.