Microsoft is rolling out a significant update to the Copilot app for Windows Insiders. The update enables the file search feature and Copilot Vision, which were originally announced late last year. Microsoft says Insiders in the US will get Copilot Vision, while Insiders around the world will have access to file search. As usual, Microsoft is slowly rolling out these updates to Insiders before a broad release. You can download the update through the Microsoft Store; version 1.25034.133.0 or later of the Copilot app has support for both features.

Copilot can snoop my files all day long

As long as that means I get functional search

The big update here is file search, which allows Copilot to find files on your PC through the chat window. You can ask it to dig up your resume, or find a presentation you were working on a week ago. It might not seem like a big deal, but searching for files in Windows is currently a nightmare. You have to search through FIle Explorer, it takes forever to search, even within a specific folder, and if you have to search for a file across multiple drives, you might as well take a break and make yourself a cup of coffee while the results populate.

Part of the reason file search works is that it has limited extension support. Out of the gate, it supports .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .txt, .pdf, and .json files, and Microsoft allows you to adjust what Copilot can read and access. And that's the best part. Copilot can read the files if you allow it to. That means you don't even need to open the file in question. Ask Copilot to find a file you're looking for and ask a question about it, and you have an answer without needing to open another application. That's the idea, at least.

Alongside file search, the update enables Copilot Vision. With Vision, you can share a window with Copilot and ask questions about it. Presumably, this is meant to work in a dense document or spreadsheet, or in your browser. It's basically a functional little chatbot that's specifically concerned with whatever window you have opened at the time. That seems less useful than file search, but if you're commonly scrolling through documents looking for a small tidbit of information, Copilot Vision might save you some time.

If you're a Windows Insider, you can check the Microsoft Store now for an update. These two new features are available as part of the Copilot app on Windows, so you don't need a Copilot+ PC or any specific hardware to use them. Microsoft hasn't put any timeline on when these features will roll out broadly to Windows users, but if everything runs smoothly with Insiders, it shouldn't be long.