Microsoft has been in the news game for many years, most notably with MSN on the web, followed by more recent, modern experiences in the Microsoft News app, in a feed on the Edge browser’s start page, in the Windows 10 News and Interests panel, and in the upcoming Windows 11’s widgets. Its latest news effort hits on all those areas.
Called simply Microsoft Start, the app and service is a “personalized news feed and collection of informational content [that] provides news from premium publishers, [and] timely updates tailored to your interests," Microsoft Corporate VP Liat Ben-Zur says in a blog post.
Start will be available on the web at MicrosoftStart.com, as a mobile app for Android and iOS, in Windows 10’s News and Interests panel, and as a widget in Windows 11. It will also show up on the Edge web browser’s new tab page.
Ben-Zur says MSN will continue as a service, but Start will add machine-learning AI as well as human curation to select content for your news feed, based on your interactions with topics and sources. A Personalize button allows you to directly manage your feed. Weather, stock market, traffic, and sports scores all are tailored to your situation. You can follow and hide publishers you favor and dislike, and customizations are synced to the Start mobile apps.
The service doesn’t seem drastically different from the already-available Microsoft News, which it will replace, but it seems to be a more consistent, intentional, holistic approach. Microsoft is looking at all its touch points for news, weather, and other info and unifying them all.
Microsoft Start starts rolling out today. You can either visit MicrosoftStart.com or download the Start mobile app, which should be available on the app stores shortly.