Find Windows 11s settings too confusing? Microsoft has an answer and it unsurprisingly relies on AI

Date:
Tue, 13 May 2025 18:13:23 +0000

Description:
Windows 11 gets an AI agent for changing settings (in testing) with Copilot+ PCs, and Im keen to see how accurate and useful this proves.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Windows 11 has a new preview build in the Beta channel It comes with an AI agent in Settings to help you change options Also a new hardware-related FAQ has been introduced in Settings, too

Windows 11 has a new preview build out and it comes with a big change: the introduction of AI to the Settings app in order to help Copilot+ PC owners find and choose the options they need.

This is a new piece of work Microsoft announced last week , but the company just said that it was coming to testing soon, at some stage this month. Well, that stage has now been set, and this ability has debuted in preview build 26120.3964 in the Beta channel.

That preview release comes with the full AI agent present in Settings, although of course, this is just the initial stages of testing. Also note
that this is for Copilot+ PCs only, it wont be applicable to normal Windows
11 PCs, as it leverages the peppy NPU thats on board Copilot+ devices. ( Microsoft also revealed fresh goodies inbound for non-Copilot+ machines , it should be noted too).

As Ive covered before, the AI agent works via the usual query model. You type in what youre looking for in Settings via a bar at the top of the panel using normal conversational language. For example, you could ask something like,
How do I put the YouTube video playing on my laptop onto my TV screen? and
the AI will find that relevant setting for screen mirroring.

The idea is to make tweaking settings or finding various capabilities a good deal easier, and with some options, AI will even recommended specific choices for you.

Another change to the Settings app in this preview build is a new hardware-related FAQ that provides info on your PC specs and how good they are. This nestles in the System > About panel within Settings, underneath the list of device specifications.

The questions-and-answers specifically relate to your PC, so if you only have 8GB of RAM for example, and youre worried that might slow down apps or moreover PC games therell be a section on exactly what that memory loadout means for you in terms of expected performance levels. Analysis: PC spec
cards and AI accuracy (Image credit: Future)

This is the first time weve seen this hardware FAQ appear in testing, though oddly, its not partnered with the related PC spec cards (small info panels) that carry the individual details of your CPU, GPU, system RAM and storage (which have been spotted in testing before , minus the FAQ).

Presumably, these pieces of the puzzle are going to come together soon, delivering a useful extra for relative PC newbies who may not be so sure
about what all these specs mean.

As for the AI agent, it looks nifty and offers plenty of promise, but there are a few notable catches here. Firstly, AI could get things wrong when it comes to the specific recommendations given for certain settings (but hopefully not in terms of the basic finding and displaying of relevant options).

So, we need to be cautious in that respect, and itll be interesting to see
how accurate Windows 11 testers find the system, and what the initial
feedback is because this could be one of the best uses of AI Microsoft has found yet. Or the worst if it comes horribly off the rails, but Microsoft doesnt appear overly ambitious here yet so that shouldnt happen.

Secondly, only the English language is supported by the Settings agent for now. Finally, just Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon processors are supported in testing to begin with, but Microsoft has said the agent will come to Copilot+ devices with AMD and Intel CPUs soon enough. Perhaps thatll be the next preview release, then. You might also like... Cant upgrade to Windows 11?
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rip all the bloatware out of Microsofts OS in a hassle-free way



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/find-windows-11s-settings-too-conf using-microsoft-has-an-answer-and-it-unsurprisingly-relies-on-ai


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