Copilot can replace Search in latest Windows 11 test builds, but it's not a good idea

hands on With Microsoft cramming Copilot into every nook and cranny of its software, it's no surprise that everyone's favorite AI assistant is now set to take over the search box. As of the latest Windows Insider Dev and Beta builds, the "Ask Copilot anything" box is available if you know how to switch it on.

Though it's off by default, using the Copilot search box feels like glancing into the future. As Microsoft has become more aggressive about pushing its AI services, we can totally see this becoming a default part of the UI. Whether it represents a net positive to the user experience remains an open question.

The default Windows 11 Search box just says "Search" and, if you haven't disabled it, contains some kind of colorful icon representing search highlights. However, the Copilot box has the text "Ask Copilot anything," along with a glasses icon and a microphone icon.

If you click into the text area of the box, you can enter either a Copilot prompt or a search term. As you type, the box presents a mix of both search results and opportunities to ask Copilot about something. For example, when I typed "George Washington," my top result was a prompt to ask Copilot about the first president, but I also got files that may (or may not) have referred to him.

If I clicked on one of the Ask Copilot answers, Windows opened up the Copilot for Windows app and answered my prompt from within that window.

If you search for just an app or a file - Chrome for example - you'll get a simpler list of results. However, I found that the results list isn't 100 percent consistent with the output I got by using Search. For example, when I searched for "winver," regular Search found the file.

Copilot did not.

One thing to notice about the Copilot box is that it spawns a floating dialog of results that appears in the middle of the screen. This is particularly jarring and annoying if, like me, you have your Start menu and Search box aligned to the left of the taskbar like they are in all prior versions of Windows.

Clicking on the glasses icon within the search box brings up Copilot Vision, where you can talk to Copilot and it can see what is on your screen. This is meant to be helpful if you want to ask spontaneous questions as you're using Windows, like "what keyboard is that in the video I'm watching now?" Since I have dual monitors, Copilot Vision first asked me which of my screens I wanted to share with the bot.

Once you've chosen a screen (or if you have only one screen), you can orally (but not via text) ask Copilot about what's on your display. When you hit the X to close the conversation, however, you can see the text transcription of what you said and of Copilot's response. But it doesn't always give the right answer. In my case, I asked Copilot how many icons were on my desktop and it said I had nine when the correct answer was actually 22.

If you just click the microphone icon, Copilot greets you and asks what you'd like to talk about, but it cannot see your screen unless and until you click on that glasses icon.

The microphone is enabled by default, so Copilot will respond to anything you talk to it about. This is the same experience you get if you enable the "Hey Copilot" wake word in Windows 11 and then wake it.

On a side note, even if you have "Ask Copilot anything" enabled, searching from within the Start menu gives you the traditional search experience.

How to get the Ask Copilot anything box

To get the "Ask Copilot anything" box right now requires you to do a few different things. First, you must make sure you are on Windows Insider build 26220.7051 or higher while running in the Windows Insider Beta or Dev channels. If you're not a Windows Insider member, you can sign up for free by navigating to Settings->Windows Update->Windows Insider Program.

You can always check which build you are on by running winver. Hit Windows + R and enter winver to run it.

Once you have the correct build, you may still lack the ability to deploy the Copilot box. To turn on the ability to turn it on (yet another step), you must use ViveTool, a free utility that enables hidden Windows features.

First download the ViveTool. Then unzip it to the C:\vive folder on your main storage drive.

Launch an elevated command prompt, which you can do by searching for cmd and right clicking it to select Run as administrator.

At the command prompt, change to your directory.

Then enter the following command:

Reboot your PC next. After the computer is restarted, head to Settings->Personalization->Taskbar and toggle "Ask Copilot" to on.

Once you've done that, you'll see that the search box now says "Ask Copilot anything."

Whether you really benefit from that box is another story. Overall, it feels like just another gateway into the Copilot app and Copilot voice experience that already exists in Windows 11. There's no need to have this experience combined with Search, and Microsoft's decision to do so is just another way to push Copilot onto its users. I recommend sticking with a traditional search box and I hope that Microsoft never forces users to have this as a Copilot box by default. ®