- Windows 11 has a new preview build in the Beta channel
- It comes with an AI agent in Settings to help you change options
- Also a new hardware-related FAQ has been introduced in Settings, too
Windows 11 has a new preview build out and it comes with a big change: the introduction of AI to the Settings app in order to help Copilot+ PC owners find and choose the options they need.
This is a new piece of work Microsoft announced last week, but the company just said that it was coming to testing soon, at some stage this month. Well, that stage has now been set, and this ability has debuted in preview build 26120.3964 in the Beta channel.
That preview release comes with the full AI agent present in Settings, although of course, this is just the initial stages of testing. Also note that this is for Copilot+ PCs only, it won’t be applicable to normal Windows 11 PCs, as it leverages the peppy NPU that’s on board Copilot+ devices. (Microsoft also revealed fresh goodies inbound for non-Copilot+ machines, it should be noted too).
As I’ve covered before, the AI agent works via the usual query model. You type in what you’re looking for in Settings via a bar at the top of the panel using normal conversational language. For example, you could ask something like, “How do I put the YouTube video playing on my laptop onto my TV screen?” and the AI will find that relevant setting for screen mirroring.
The idea is to make tweaking settings or finding various capabilities a good deal easier, and with some options, AI will even recommended specific choices for you.
Another change to the Settings app in this preview build is a new hardware-related FAQ that provides info on your PC specs and how good they are. This nestles in the System > About panel within Settings, underneath the list of device specifications.
The questions-and-answers specifically relate to your PC, so if you only have 8GB of RAM for example, and you’re worried that might slow down apps – or moreover PC games – there’ll be a section on exactly what that memory loadout means for you in terms of expected performance levels.
Analysis: PC spec cards and AI accuracy
This is the first time we’ve seen this hardware FAQ appear in testing, though oddly, it’s not partnered with the related ‘PC spec cards’ (small info panels) that carry the individual details of your CPU, GPU, system RAM and storage (which have been spotted in testing before, minus the FAQ).
Presumably, these pieces of the puzzle are going to come together soon, delivering a useful extra for relative PC newbies who may not be so sure about what all these specs mean.
As for the AI agent, it looks nifty and offers plenty of promise, but there are a few notable catches here. Firstly, AI could get things wrong when it comes to the specific recommendations given for certain settings (but hopefully not in terms of the basic finding and displaying of relevant options).
So, we need to be cautious in that respect, and it’ll be interesting to see how accurate Windows 11 testers find the system, and what the initial feedback is – because this could be one of the best uses of AI Microsoft has found yet. Or the worst if it comes horribly off the rails, but Microsoft doesn’t appear overly ambitious here – yet – so that shouldn’t happen.
Secondly, only the English language is supported by the Settings agent for now. Finally, just Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon processors are supported in testing to begin with, but Microsoft has said the agent will come to Copilot+ devices with AMD and Intel CPUs soon enough. Perhaps that’ll be the next preview release, then.
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