Microsoft renamed its Edge browser on iOS and Android recently. Now, when you go to download the app, you'll notice that it's called "Microsoft Edge: AI Browser." The company silently made this change but didn't include a big update after the name change that enhanced its AI capabilities. The company likely changed the name because it upgraded Edge's version of Microsoft Copilot to make it as powerful as its web version.

However, there's a chance that Microsoft is jumping the gun by calling Edge an AI browser. Sure, the company will likely expand upon its AI capabilities in the future, but right now, people will judge its status as an AI browser based on its features. So, is Microsoft Edge on iOS and Android truly an AI browser, or is this just marketing?

To find out, I asked Copilot on Edge for Android to perform basic browsing tasks, like refreshing a page or adding a bookmark. Then, I asked it to analyze three kinds of media: an article, a YouTube video, and an image. Here's what happened.

The good: Copilot for Microsoft Edge can sum up videos and articles

Making it easier to get the gist of the content

During my testing, I was happy with Copilot's ability to sum up content in a way that's easier to digest. If you haven't tried this feature yet, Copilot can scan the content of the webpage you're currently on into a shortened version. This even works on YouTube videos, where Copilot can read the transcript of the video and tell you what the video is about.

I gave this a try with our video on Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Pixel 8 Pro. I navigated to the video in Edge and then asked Microsoft Copilot to sum up the video. Copilot then quickly generated a summary of the video, showing the points made in the script alongside a timestamp so I could watch the parts it explained. Copilot then added some suggested questions based on the content, such as looking up the price of a Galaxy S23 Ultra, and guided me through some other Samsung Galaxy phones.

I could also use Copilot to sum up any article I brought up. In this example, I pulled up an article on XDA and asked it to tell me what the article was explaining. Copilot accurately summarized the article in a brief description, which let me see all the major points the author made in their piece.

The bad: Copilot for Microsoft Edge can't perform basic tasks

Microsoft Edge is missing a lot of expected features from an AI browser

When I think of an AI browser, I expect it to perform simple tasks. You should be able to tell the browser to go to a specific website, bookmark a page, or go back to a previous page, and the browser will respond accordingly to that. Without those features, I struggle to feel that a browser is truly an AI browser.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened Copilot and asked it to take me to YouTube, only for it to reply that it could not do that. Granted, it then gave me a link to YouTube and told me to click it to visit the website, but I don't feel that a browser assistant that gives me the bare minimum and tells me to do it myself is an AI browser.

I also asked it to bookmark a website that I was on. Copilot told me it could do so and saved the bookmark to my bookmarks folder. The problem is, when I went to look for the bookmark, it was nowhere to be seen. I don't know if Copilot saved the bookmark in a weird place or if it lied to me, but it didn't seem to work. Copilot also couldn't refresh the page or go back to a previous page I had visited.

I then navigated Edge to the image of a cat and told Copilot to sum up what the image was. Copilot told me that it couldn't sum up the image because I had opened the image in its own tab. It seems that Copilot could only give me context about an image if it has a full webpage to analyze, from which it can extrapolate data about what the image is about. When presented with just an image, Copilot has nothing to go on.

The verdict: is Microsoft Edge truly an AI browser?

Maybe not the revolution people wanted

At the end of my experiment, I felt disappointed by Microsoft Edge as an AI browser. Sure, Copilot has some nice features, and I'm sure Microsoft will keep working on Edge to make it a true option. But right now, it's missing a lot of features that I would expect of one. As such, if you've been tempted to give Microsoft Edge another shot because of its rename, I would temper your expectations a little before giving it a try.

Unfortunately, I think the name change was more based on marketing than a declaration that Microsoft Edge is leading the charge in AI-powered solutions. I'm sure Microsoft will make me eat my words when they enhance how Copilot interacts with the web, and I'm excited to see that day come in the future.