The Copilot app for Windows X: a stand-alone app for voice and text control in Windows 365, Windows Edge, and Microsoft 365

You can use Copilot to find flight information on your phone for an upcoming trip, compose texts based on context, and many other search- and productivity-related tasks. It can be accessed via the Windows desktop as a stand-alone app but also within Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Edge. The new feature will begin to roll out as part of the next Windows 11 update, which will be released on September 26.

During the event, Yusuf Mehdi, consumer chief marketing officer, called Copilot “a handshake between you and technology — available when you need it and out of the way when you don’t.”

Copilot in Windows will let you control parts of the desktop experience with voice or text commands — in the video above, it’s shown arranging windows, toggling dark mode, launching specific Spotify playlists, generating full paragraphs of confident-sounding prose on minimalistic architecture, and removing photo backgrounds. It is a big improvement over the current start menu text box, which fails to find anything relevant on the computer or fails to find anything on the web. We’ll see!

Highlights from the Microsoft Event in New York City: Surface Laptops and the Windows 11 AI-Powered Enhancement Preview of Microsoft’s Second Generation

There was a Microsoft event in New York City. The company used the occasion to show off two new laptops from its house-made Surface line as well as a slew of AI-powered enhancements coming to Windows 11 later this month. The hour-long presentation was not livestreamed, but we were there to hear the announcements, watch the demos, and go hands-on with the new devices. Highlights are below.

Bing can be used to shop for stuff. Microsoft says the Shopping tab will also get the Copilot treatment, and you can talk to the assistant to get help finding what you want to buy. Copilot will guide you through a series of questions so it can better understand what you are looking for and show relevant shopping recommendations, including reviews on products and pros and cons. This fall, it will be available.

Two years have gone by since the first generation of the Surface Laptop Studio was launched, and now there is a second generation model. Like its predecessor, it comes with a 14.4-inch touchscreen display with a refresh rate of up to a 120 Hz, and a dual-hinge mounting system (embedded into the center behind the display and base) that allows you to adjust the screen in different angles. Stage mode allows you to position the display towards you to play games and watch movies, as well as studio mode where you can draw or write on the screen.