Honestly, I've kind of given up on using Windows Search to find things on my computer. There are plenty of third-party tools and one not-so-third-party one that can do the job a lot better. However, Microsoft is adding a new and improved Windows Search to its operating system on the Insider channel, albeit not everyone can get it.

Windows Search gets a boost, but only on Copilot+ PCs

In an announcement on the Windows Insider blog, the tech giant describes how the new Search works. Unfortunately, if you don't have a Copilot+ PC, you can't use it; the new tool utilizes the NPU to get the job done, and if you don't have one, it won't work.

If you do have a Copilot+ PC, the update sounds very interesting:

You no longer need to remember file names, exact words in file content, or settings names. For example, you can use your own words to find images by typing “bridge at sunset”, documents by describing what they are about like “Europe trip budget”, or settings like “change my theme”. Thanks to the power of the 40+ TOPS NPU onboard Copilot+ PCs, these search improvements work even when you’re not connected to the internet.

You'll need to do a little setup to get everything working. The search tool only finds things stored locally and indexed, so you'll need to go to Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows to tweak which areas are indexed. If you just want it all, you can turn on “Enhanced,” and Windows will index your whole PC.