You can now ask Copilot to find files in Windows 11 and ask questions about running apps

At its 50th anniversary event, Microsoft announced new features for the Copilot app on Windows 11, and they are now available for public testing in the Insider program. If you are a member of the Windows Insider program in the United States, you can try Copilot File Search and Copilot Vision.

Copilot File Search is a feature that lets you find files on your PC within the Copilot app. Besides locating your files, the app now enables you to ask questions about them. For example, you can say something like, "Look at my budget file and tell me how much I spent on dining last month.".

File search: You can now find, open and ask questions about the contents of a file on your device from the Copilot on Windows app. You can adjust your permissions for what Copilot can access, retrieve, or read in Copilot Settings under Permission settings. File search supports most file types and can read .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .txt, .pdf, .json files. Ask Copilot questions like “Can you find my resume”, “Open the trip planning doc I was working on last week”, or “Look at my budget file and tell me how much I spent on dining last month”.

Copilot Vision is a new assistant that can provide additional information about something inside your browser window or any other app. You can let it analyze the content and then ask various questions.

Copilot Vision on Windows: You can share any browser or app window with Copilot. Copilot can then help analyze, offer insights, or answer your questions, coaching you through it aloud. To get started click the glasses icon in your composer, select which browser window or app you want to share, and ask Copilot to help with whatever you’re working on. To stop sharing, press ‘Stop’ or ‘X’ in the composer.

These features are now rolling out to Windows insiders in all channels via the Microsoft Store. Copilot Vision is only available in the United States, while Copilot File Search is available worldwide. Note that the rollout is gradual, so not everyone can access these features right here and right now.