Microsoft wants to improve search in Windows with the help of AI. The technology company announced a new implementation that will help us find files and documents faster on our computer, even if we do not remember the exact name. This feature will take advantage of a key feature of the hardware that powers Copilot, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence.
Within the framework of Microsoft Ignite 2024, the Redmond giant announced multiple new features for its operating system and other company services. Although the small computer that allows you to run Windows in the cloud stole the spotlight, the company showed other implementations that aim to improve the user experience. Microsoft wants to cash in on the multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, so many of these options are AI-focused.
In the list of features that will debut in the coming months highlights the one that solves one of the oldest problems of the operating system. The File search has not been Windows’ strong pointnever. Despite introducing improvements in each delivery of the OS — including Cortana — Microsoft fails to hit the nail on the head and users end up using tools like PowerToys, Wox or Ueli.
In an attempt to improve this feature, Microsoft will use AI models that take advantage of the computer’s neural processing unit (NPU). Windows Search will allow users to find files using associated words and phrases. If you want to locate a PDF or Word file, but you don’t remember the name you saved it with, you will only need to use an associated word.
How the new Windows Search works
To do this, Windows will use semantic search, a technology that improves the precision and relevance of search results by understanding the meaning and context of the words in a query. Semantic search uses language understanding models to interpret the intent behind the user’s query and find content that is conceptually similar, even if it does not contain the exact same words.
Windows Semantic Search will rely on the NPU integrated into the Copilot+ PCs and it will not only be available for File Explorer or Windows Search, but also in the Settings of the operating system. The latter will help us easily find functions or features of the system that we can modify.
The only downside to the new Windows Search feature is that it will only be available for a limited number of computers. Microsoft mentioned that this feature uses the NPU, so it does not require you to be connected to the internet, however, The only computers with this hardware are those with a Snapdragon chip. The feature will likely open to more devices in 2025, when the exclusivity contract with Qualcomm ends.
