Microsoft adds three new AI features to Copilot+ PCs – including the controversial Recall

Microsoft is officially rolling out a trio of features designed to give Copilot+ PC’s new AI-powered capabilities. On Friday, the software giant introduced three new tools for most Copilot+ PCs: Recall, a new AI-powered Windows search, and Click to Do.

Launched earlier in April to Windows Insiders, the three features have been in preview mode only. Now, Microsoft is gradually pushing them out to all qualifying consumer PCs through the April 2025 Windows non-security preview update.

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The launch will unfold over the next month via a controlled rollout. This means the company will likely monitor how the new features are received and adopted, especially Recall.

Recall

Initially announced in May 2024, the AI-powered Recall has had a short but checkered history. Promoted by Microsoft as a type of photographic memory for your computer, Recall takes a series of snapshots of virtually everything you see and do in Windows. Think of it as an advanced AI-powered search tool designed to retrieve any file, setting, activity, or other content you have accessed.

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However, any feature that takes snapshots of your Windows activity also raises concerns about privacy. This is how Recall was initially received by Windows users and some security experts, who called it a “privacy nightmare.”

Taken aback by the response, Microsoft adjusted Recall’s audience and availability. Initially designed as a preview for all Copilot+ PCs, the feature was restricted to Windows insiders. Even then, Microsoft continued to pause and delay Recall while fine-tuning some of its more controversial aspects.

With the new rollout, Microsoft stresses that Recall will be an opt-in feature, disabled by default unless you choose to enable it. You’ll need to use Windows Hello authentication to access it. Your data is encrypted and processed only on your device. Microsoft also promises that the information won’t be sent to the cloud or shared with the company or third parties.

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Still concerned about Recall snooping on your Windows activities? You can completely remove it from your PC, though there is one caveat. Even after you remove Recall, Windows may store temporary copies of non-executable binary files used by the feature. However, these are eventually removed over time.

To use Recall, you’ll need a PC equipped with the following:

• A Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-core standard
• A neural processing unit capable of 40 TOPs (Trillions of Operations Per Second)
• At least 16 GB of RAM
• 8 logical processors
• 256 GB or more of storage capacity with at least 50 GB of free space
• Device Encryption or BitLocker enabled
• Windows Hello authentication enabled with at least one biometric sign-in option, such as facial recognition or fingerprint scanning

Improved Windows search

Next on the list of new features is an AI-enabled Windows search. To find a specific file in File Explorer, you typically need to remember all or part of the name. With the improved Windows search rolling out, you’ll be able to simply describe the file you’re seeking.

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Available in File Explorer, the Windows Search box, and Settings, the new feature lets you find documents, images, settings, and other content by using natural language. Microsoft claims that finding and copying an image to a new folder using the improved search takes 70% less time than performing the same task with traditional search in Windows 10. 

Copilot+ users will soon be able to assess if that’s true. This feature requires the same type of Copilot+ PC as Recall.

Click to Do

The third new feature on the list is Click to Do. With this feature, selecting text or an image on the screen triggers a menu with different actions, similar to right-clicking a folder or file in File Explorer. In this case, Microsoft’s AI analyzes the screen, allowing you to select a specific area of text or an image. The menu that appears varies based on what you selected.

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With text, you can copy it to the clipboard, open it in a text editor like Notepad, and search the web. If the text is an email address, you can copy it or send an email. If it’s a web page, you can open it in your default browser. Depending on the text, you may be able to summarize it, organize it into a bulleted list, or rewrite it.

With an image, you can copy it to the clipboard, save it, share it, open it in an app like Photos or Paint, run a visual search on it, blur the background or erase objects using the Photos app, and remove the background using Paint.

In another nod to privacy, the AI analysis takes place locally on your PC. The process begins only when you activate Click to Do and ends when you close the feature. Microsoft promises that Click to Do only identifies text and images as such and won’t snoop on the actual content.

Click to Do image actions are now accessible on all Copilot+ PCs. Text actions will start by rolling out to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs and then expand to those with AMD Ryzen and Intel chips sometime in the next few months.

How to get the new features

To grab the April 2025 Windows update with the new features, go to Settings and select Windows Update. Turn on the switch for “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.” Click the “Check for Updates” button to download and install the new update. Keep in mind, though, that the new features will gradually roll out over the next month, so you may not see them right away.

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