Windows Insiders to fly solo while Copilot rollout frozen

Microsoft will temporarily halt the rollout of Copilot features based on feedback from Windows Insiders.

Microsoft made the announcement with build 26120.461 on the Windows Insider Dev Channel and build 22635.3570 for Beta Channel Windows Insiders.

The Windows team has been testing various "experiences" on its unpaid army of Windows testers, including making Copilot for Windows behave like a regular application or animating the taskbar icon to indicate that Copilot is ready to help with copying text and images.

Yet something has forced Microsoft's hand to put Copilot on ice. "We have decided to pause the rollouts of these experiences to further refine them based on user feedback."

Does that mean Microsoft is stepping back from its Copilot obsession? It seems not. "Copilot in Windows will continue to work as expected while we continue to evolve new ideas with Windows Insiders."

Microsoft did not specify what feedback it had received to trigger the pause. A look at an earlier Beta Channel build - 22635.3566 on April 26 - indicated that users were not enjoying those new experiences. As well as Copilot launching unexpectedly - definitely nothing to do with the auto-launch experience tried out earlier in the year, according to Microsoft - there were issues with voice access and Windows Ink.

Microsoft's decision to take a break from trying out new ways of getting users to click on the Copilot for Windows icon follows a request that investors temper their expectations for a quick financial return from all the cash the tech giant is pouring into the AI technology.

The company's AI fixation is also attracting attention from regulators in the UK and the European Union - both of which are looking into whether Redmond's investments in AI startups is impeding competition.

Ultimately, the Windows Insider program is a place where Microsoft's engineers can try out ideas and move swiftly on if it transpires that things aren't working out as hoped.

However, sometimes, we just wish Microsoft would ditch the frills and work on making sure the functionality that has already been released in Windows 11 actually works properly. ®