All the Windows AI features you can use today

Plus: How to disable AI  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) Season's greetings! The holidays are a time for focusing on what's really important. For that reason, I wanted to focus on what's really important — to Microsoft. Yes, that means AI. Even if you're not a fan, don't close this email! Many of these "AI features" wouldn't even be branded as AI if Microsoft didn't want to capitalize on the hype. They're just plain-old useful. Also, I've gotten a lot of questions about disabling all this AI stuff — so I'll show you how to do that, too, if you're so inclined. (But good news: That AI isn't doing anything with your personal data unless you choose to provide it.) [Chris Hoffman, AUthor] Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 1 minute 30 seconds ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 2 minutes ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 20 seconds ​ [] [3 Things to Know This Week] ​ 1. Microsoft is axing a lot of Windows features ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft has been "deprecating" a lot of Windows features this year, ending development on them and planning to remove them in the future. 🔎 KNOW MORE: A "deprecated" feature is one Microsoft is no longer developing — possibly because they've been replaced by something new, but also possibly because they're no longer a priority. - Microsoft just announced the deprecation of Windows Mixed Reality. Microsoft's Virtual Reality platform will be removed in a future version of Windows. - Enterprise security features like Microsoft Defender Application Guard, which launched applications in an isolated virtual machine container environment, are also being axed. - Paul Thurrott imagines Microsoft is concerned about regulation of big tech companies rather than trying to pare legacy technologies from Windows to simplify Windows — but, whatever the reason for these decisions, the result is the same. 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [Paul Thurrott's take on the deprecations]() or this piece on [the end of Windows Mixed Reality](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Microsoft Rewards is now much less generous ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Earlier this month, Microsoft quietly lowered the payouts from its Microsoft Rewards program. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft Rewards was formerly Bing Rewards. It's integrated into Bing, Windows, and Xbox. You get points for actions like searching on Bing, and you can trade those points for rewards like Amazon gift cards. - Previously, you could perhaps earn $10 in Amazon gift cards every month if you were dedicated. - Now, Microsoft offers many fewer ways to earn points every day — and some actions that used to offer a significant number of points now offer just a single point as a rewards. A single point isn't much when a $5 Amazon gift card costs 5250 points. - Many people are switching from Bing to other search engines now that Microsoft Rewards looks less generous. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft ends the Rewards program at some point. 📌 READ MORE: This [look at the gutting of Microsoft Rewards]() from earlier this month is still on point. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. A buggy Windows update just got an interesting fix ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: A recent Windows Update broke Wi-Fi on some enterprise networks, and the fix demonstrates a Windows capability we don't often think about. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Update bugs are normal, but traditionally they required you uninstall the update to fix them. That's a big problem when updates are now delivered as big packages of security patches, fixes, and other changes. - December's Patch Tuesday update caused Wi-Fi issues on certain enterprise, education, or public Wi-Fi networks (not home networks.) - Microsoft fixed the problem with a Known Issue Rollback (KIR.) This causes Windows to use a previous version of that Wi-Fi connection code from before the update — ignoring just a tiny part of the update. - It's a fascinating solution to update bugs — one that lets Microsoft remotely flip a switch to make Windows use before-patch code rather than requiring you uninstall updates. 📌 READ MORE: Here's some more [info about the Wi-Fi issue](). SPONSORED MESSAGE When you need caffeine, you drink espresso… ☕️ =​ But when you need the most important tech news in just 5 minutes, you [read Techpresso](=). The baristas of tech and AI, Techpresso culls through 60+ media sources daily to deliver you the top headlines from the last 24 hours. (Like a recent fun one about an electric car that completed the world's first-ever drive from the North to the South Pole.) Why Techpresso is the only tech email you’ll ever need: - Unlike espresso, it’s totally free - Written in short, hard-hitting bullet points for easy digestion - Read by 30,000 professionals from Google, OpenAI, Meta, and more ➜ [Get your daily tech news roundup and subscribe to Techpresso FREE with 1-click.](​ [SUBSCRIBE WITH ONE CLICK ➜]( ​ [] [3 Things to Try This Week] 1. Try these 10 AI features on Windows 11 Microsoft has spent a lot of the last year talking up AI features on Windows. These features weren't all released at once — many of them have trickled out, one by one. ➜ As we near the end of 2023, I'm looking back at all the splashy AI features Microsoft has already released — ones you can use today. Some of them are pretty new — did you know you can now disable the Web Search plug-in in Copilot and make it act like ChatGPT, responding to prompts without ever searching Bing? ⌚ It will take you a few minutes to try all these features. 💻 Most of these features are just for Windows 11. 📌 Read my list of [10 AI features you can use on Windows 11](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Disable Copilot AI on Windows While I've been trying to keep up with Microsoft's frantic AI pursuits and showing off what you can actually do with this technology, there's one question I've gotten a lot: Some people just want to know how to disable AI on their PCs. ➜ The good news is avoiding AI on Windows is very simple right now. Despite Microsoft's breathless chatter about how AI will one day — maybe by the end of next year — run in the background and take actions for you, today's Windows AI features don't actually do anything unless you go out of your way to use them. ⌚ You can do this in 5 seconds, if you like — but you don't really need to. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Since Copilot — Microsoft's big AI assistant — isn't actually doing anything with your data unless you start a conversation with it or choose to give it files, you just have to avoid using Copilot. To remove the Copilot icon: - On Windows 11, right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, select "Taskbar settings," and turn off "Copilot" under" Taskbar items." - On Windows 10, you should be able to right-click your taskbar and find an option to disable it. (Copilot is just rolling out on the first few Windows 10 PCs at the moment.) - In Microsoft Edge, click the menu button and select "Settings." Click "Sidebar" in the left pane, click "Copilot" under "App Specific Settings" and then toggle off "Show Copilot." [Taskbar item options in Windows 11's Settings app.] You don't really have to do any of this, though — Copilot will only get the data you choose to provide it. So Copilot won't do anything until you click and open it, and even if you do open it, Copilot will only get access to the data you choose to provide. For now, those AI features aren't doing anything until you activate them. Things may change in the future — I'll be sure to keep you updated when and if they do! --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Annotate screenshots on Windows Windows has a built-in screenshot tool, and it's underused — not only can it capture screenshots, it can also annotate those screenshots. (On Windows 11, it can also record videos and automatically extract text from images.) ➜ It's a convenient collaboration tool, and and an easy way to highlight something in a screenshot without a heavy image editor. ⌚ You can annotate a screenshot in 5 seconds. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, although each version of Windows has a different program that looks a bit different. First, take a screenshot with the Snipping Tool (on Windows 11) or Snip & Sketch (on Windows 10): Press Windows+Shift+S and highlight the section of the screen you want to screenshot. Then, click the notification that appears. Use the buttons on the toolbar to annotate the screenshot: The Pen and Highlighter. Click each button a second time to choose a color and size, draw on the image When you're done, click the Save button and save your image file — or copy it and paste it into another application. [Annotating an image in the Snipping Tool on Windows 11.] ​ [] [Top Thurrott Thoughts] Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Microsoft Will Soon Fix the Dumbest File Explorer Bug of All](​ - Now that's an annoying bug. - ​[Hands-On with Tiny11 2311](=) - A slimmed down version of Windows 11. - ​[Google Needs an Apple TV (Premium)](=) - I'd like to see a Chromecast with stronger performance, too. - ​[Google to Pay $700 Million to Settle Play Store Antitrust Lawsuit](=) - "Each eligible consumer will receive at least $2." - ​[Google Pixel Tablet: Round Two](=) - Hands-on with Google's tablet. ​ [And Just for Funsies...] Did you know that the Excel World Championships happened earlier this month? Yes, really — an Excel spreadsheet championship event happened at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas (it's in the Luxor), and it was streamed on ESPN. At this point, you're probably either nodding along and thinking "I can't believe Chris didn't know about this" — or you're totally baffled. Either way, you can [watch the Excel World Championship finals](=). Hey, maybe this will be your new favorite sporting event! [[video preview]​](=) Happy holidays! And that's it for this week — and this year! We here at The Intelligence are off for the holidays next week. I'll be back in your inbox after New Year's. I hope you have an excellent holiday season! 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up](=) [Thumbs Down]( Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let me know. Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up for our newsletters](): Windows Intelligence, Android Intelligence, or Cool Tools (or all three!). Hungry for even more? 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